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Pensioner meaning

What does Pensioner mean?
In legal practice, a pensioner is a person currently being paid a pension from a pension scheme (occupational, public service or personal). The term is descriptive. In pensions legislation the defined expression is usually pensioner member (for example, in UK and Irish pensions statutes), meaning a person entitled to the present payment of benefits under an occupational pension scheme; corresponding Northern Ireland legislation is aligned. Usage is broadly consistent across England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland. In day-to-day administration, pensioner typically covers: - retired members drawing their own pension; and - individuals paid a survivors’ or dependants’ pension (often called pensioner beneficiaries, who may not be scheme members). The classification matters for trustee governance, actuarial valuations and funding, buy-in and buy-out transactions, administration and payroll, disclosure duties, and priority on winding up. It is contrasted with active member and deferred member. Outside scheme law, pensioner is also used in social security to describe a person receiving the State Pension. Always check the relevant statute or scheme rules for any context-specific definition or exclusions.
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View the related News about Pensioner

NEWS
UK platforms and IP rights-holders deploy AI against fake reviews and counterfeits: CMA scrutiny, DMCC Bill ban, and enforcement trends

Fake reviews plague online shopping. A pensioner from Lincolnshire, in England’s east, paid £600 ($750) in February 2022 to Euro Resales to advertise and sell a property his wife inherited after her father’s death. However, soon after the fee was transferred, the firm went silent, leaving him to appoint another estate agent. Trustpilot spotlighted his experience after securing a UK order that prohibits Euro Resales from purchasing and posting fabricated reviews on its platforms. Ferdinando is merely one among countless shoppers misled into buying after seeing sham reviews online on sites such as Amazon and Tripadvisor. Consumer group Which estimates roughly one in seven reviews are bogus, with scammers siphoning about $152bn worldwide, including $5bn in the UK. It isn’t only firms seeking to burnish their image. Counterfeit goods, a $464bn market and the second-biggest revenue stream for organised crime after illegal drugs, are also fuelled by fake reviews. ‘Online counterfeit products pose a significant economic problem,’ said Jonathon Egerton-Peters, a partner at Steptoe International (UK) LLP...

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NEWS
Pensions Ombudsman upholds employer refusal to consent to discretionary pre‑1997 pension increases due to funding and proper process; time‑bar applies; discrimination claim fails (Mr N, CAS‑97668‑M6M1)

Original news Mr N (CAS-97668-M6M1) —18 March 2025 Summary The Pensions Ombudsman dismissed a grievance concerning discretionary pension uplifts. Under the Scheme’s provisions, a pre‑1997 pension could be increased by the trustee, but only with the employer’s agreement. The employer declined to consent, pointing to the Scheme’s funding position. Without that approval, the trustee could not grant an increase. As the employer had followed an appropriate procedure when reaching its conclusion, the Pensions Ombudsman would not overturn that outcome. This matter highlights the significance of proper process in any decision‑making. What were the facts? Mr N was a pensioner member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain Staff Pension Scheme (the Scheme)...

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NEWS
Commons Work and Pensions Committee urges minimum retirement income objective, State Pension redesign and cross-government strategy to address Pension Credit cliff-edge and rising pensioner poverty

Pensioner Poverty: challenges and mitigations With more older people slipping into poverty, the Work and Pensions Committee’s report clearly contends that ministers should adopt a clear target for a minimum level of retirement income. It says the State Pension must fully secure a basic, dignified standard of living, and that a government strategy should then be set out to help everyone reach that benchmark, recognising the financial setbacks affecting many, including the 2.1 million still on the old State Pension. The report stressed that relying on safety nets such as Pension Credit and Housing Benefit alone is simply insufficient on its own...

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View the related Practice Notes about Pensioner

PRACTICE NOTES
Electricity Supply Pension Scheme (ESPS): scheme-wide and Group-specific governance, eligibility, contributions, retirement, ill-health, redundancy and death benefits, pension increases and transitional rules post-privatisation

ESPS (ESPS) is a trust-based arrangement created by an Electricity Council resolution on 20 January 1983 as an industry-wide pension for employees of the nationalised electricity sector. It remained a single scheme at privatisation on 31 March 1990, after which it was divided into separate sections or ‘Groups’. The rules are not publicly accessible. For further information on statutory protections for ESPS members following privatisation, see Practice Note: —Protected Persons. Each principal electricity company participating in the ESPS forms its own Group; there are currently 23 Groups. Some Groups have a single participating employer, while others have several. Each Group is actuarially independent, with its assets and liabilities assessed on a standalone basis... Although a common scheme-wide benefit structure applied at the point of privatisation, since then each Group has been able to offer different benefits to its members. The ESPS rules comprise a central set of clauses and provisions governing matters that apply across the scheme, with Group-specific rules appended as Schedules. This Practice Note outlines the...

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PRACTICE NOTES
Armed Forces Pension Scheme 2015 (UK): statutory basis, funding and cost control, governance, membership, benefits, transfers, death benefits, and the McCloud transitional remedy

Statutory framework At present, four principal pension schemes operate in England and Wales for members of the armed forces. These are: Armed Forces Pension Scheme 1975 (AFPS 1975) — formerly open only to the regular forces; closed to new members from 6 April 2006 and stopped future accrual from 1 April 2022 Armed Forces Pension Scheme 2005 (AFPS 2005) — likewise for the regular forces only; also closed to future accrual from 1 April 2022 Reserve Forces Pension Scheme 2005 (RFPS 2005) — open to full time reservists; again closed to future accrual from 1 April 2022 Armed Forces Pension Scheme 2015 (AFPS 2015) — open to the regular forces and all reservists; effective from 1 April 2015 There are also several other schemes, run by the same manager, that provide pension or other occupational benefits to armed forces personnel. This Practice Note focuses on AFPS 2015. The AFPS 2015 was established under section...

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PRACTICE NOTES
Reformed NHS Pension Scheme 2015 (England and Wales): statutory framework, governance and funding, contributions, CARE benefits, McCloud remedy, membership, survivor benefits, flexible retirement, transfers, outsourcing and GMP indexation

What is the National Health Service Pension Scheme? The NHSPS is an unfunded public service occupational pension that delivers salary‑related, defined benefit (DB) retirement provision for health service staff. The reformed NHSPS (often termed the ‘2015 Scheme’) began on 1 April 2015 as a career average revalued earnings (CARE) arrangement. New starters since that date have joined this scheme, which is the focus of this Practice Note. The legacy NHSPS (the ‘1995/2008 Scheme’) consists of two separate final salary sections—the 1995 Section and the 2008 Section—both closed to future accrual, while preserving a final salary link within that scheme. For further details, see Practice Note: The legacy National Health Service Pension Scheme. There are distinct schemes in Scotland and Northern Ireland, which are not covered by this Practice Note. When the reformed NHSPS opened, the government acted to close the 1995 and 2008 Sections to future accrual, subject to: ...

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PRECEDENTS
Member‑nominated trustee nomination notice and process template (eligibility, selection, term and duties) compliant with the Pensions Act 2004 and the Pensions Regulator’s General Code

To: the [ active AND/OR deferred AND/OR pensioner ] members [ (the “Members”) ] of the [ insert name of pension scheme ] [ (the “Scheme”) ] From: The trustees of the Scheme Date: [ Insert date sent to members ] The Pensions Act 2004 (the “2004 Act”) and the Pensions Regulator’s General Code of Practice (the “General Code of Practice”) require occupational pension schemes to have arrangements ensuring that at least one third of trustees are nominated by members, unless the Scheme is exempt under legislation. Background Consistent with the 2004 Act and the General Code of Practice, the trustee [ s ] of the Scheme (the “Trustees”) invite nominations from those eligible to nominate for [ insert number of member-nominated trustees sought ] new member-nominated trustee roles. The current position The Scheme is currently constituted by [ insert total number of trustees ] trustees, comprising [ insert number of MNTs ] trustees nominated by the Members (the...

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PRECEDENTS
Member-Nominated Trustee Arrangements for Occupational Pension Schemes: Statutory Compliance, Nomination, Ballot, Appointment, Term of Office, Cessation and Review

To: the [ Active AND/OR Deferred AND/OR Pensioner ] Members (“[ the Members ]”) of the [ insert name pension scheme ] [ “the Scheme” ] From: The Scheme’s Trustees Date: [ Insert date sent to members ] Background In accordance with the Pensions Act 2004 (PeA 2004) and the Pension Regulator’s General Code of Practice (“the General Code of Practice”), occupational pension schemes must have arrangements ensuring that at least one third of trustees are nominated by members, unless the Scheme is exempt under legislation. The General Code of Practice states that the MNT arrangement should include a mechanism for periodic review to confirm whether it remains suitable for the Scheme, with such reviews to occur every three to five years. The General Code of Practice also indicates that the arrangement should be reassessed whenever there is a material change to the Scheme’s circumstances and/or its membership...

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