Legal Q&A

We proceed on the basis that the pension scheme in question is a defined benefit scheme and that the former MND is a member. Whether the former MND should first contest the outcome of the MND election through the pension scheme’s internal dispute resolution procedure, or complain straight to the Pensions Regulator, depends on the nature and seriousness of the breach......

Practice Note: TUPE—what pension benefits should the transferee provide? The Pensions Regulator, in its auto-enrolment guidance 2, indicates that when a TUPE transfer occurs, employees who move across are regarded as new joiners of the incoming employer (the transferee)......

An employer operating the pension scheme must use the identical procedure to set up active membership for automatic re-enrolment as it would for automatic enrolment. The employer is required to implement the statutory steps for automatic enrolment so that eligible jobholders are admitted as active members with effect from their automatic re-enrolment date. Where the actions needed to secure active membership occur after the automatic re-enrolment date, that active membership has to be retrospectively applied to that date, and contributions become due and must be paid from that date......

Auto-enrolment—who needs to be enrolled?— Exceptions to the auto-enrolment duty Please consult the Practice Note: Auto-enrolment—who needs to be enrolled?, with particular focus on the section headed ‘ Auto-enrolment—who needs to be enrolled?— Exceptions to the auto-enrolment duty’......

Automatic enrolment does not apply to workers under age 22. Individuals younger than 22 fall outside automatic enrolment. However, anyone aged 16 to 21 with qualifying earnings of £6,032 or above in the 2018–19 tax year may choose to join their employer’s automatic enrolment arrangement and receive employer pension contributions. For the purposes of limb (a) in section 230(3) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 ( ERA 1996), a worker is an individual who has entered into, or works or worked under, a contract of employment. Under ERA 1996, section 230(2), a contract of employment means a contract of service or apprenticeship. An apprenticeship agreement meeting the requirements of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 is treated as a contract of service, not a contract of apprenticeship. See Practice Notes: Employee status and...

Section 28 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 ( MCA 1973) Pursuant to section 28 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 ( MCA 1973), a periodical payments order terminates automatically if the recipient remarries. If, for any reason, this does not occur, an application can be brought to recover the sums paid. See Practice Note: Impact of remarriage, subsequent civil partnership, or cohabitation......

A pension sharing order A pension sharing order enables one party to obtain, in their own name and in their own right, benefits directly debited from the other party’s pension scheme, and secures a clean break between the parties regarding pensions. Sections 11 and 12 of the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 ( WRPA 1999) state that pension rights under approved pension schemes do not vest in a trustee in bankruptcy, provided the bankruptcy petition was presented on or after 29 May 2000 under the legislation. Consequently, if the individual holding the pension to be shared is made bankrupt, the court’s authority to make a pension sharing order should remain unaffected in law......

The Finance Act 2004 ( FA 2004) sets conditions for pensions and lump sums to be authorised payments. Under FA 2004, a member’s pension from a registered pension scheme must not begin before they reach the normal minimum pension age, unless the ill-health condition is met. In the same way, most lump sums are not payable before that age. The normal minimum pension age was 50 when FA 2004 took effect on 6 April 2006, rose to 55 from 6 April 2010, and will increase to 57 from 6 April 2028, excluding uniformed services pension schemes (army, navy, air force, police and firefighters). Transitional provisions preserve members’ subsisting rights to draw scheme benefits before age 55; this is referred to as a protection pension age. The Pensions Tax Manual confirms that, to hold a protected pension age, the member must have an...

For guidance on entitlement to statutory annual leave under the Working Time Regulations 1998 ( SI 1998/1833), and on methods of calculation, refer to Practice Notes: Statutory paid holiday—the right and Statutory paid holiday—calculating holiday pay. For details on recourse where statutory sick pay ( SSP) and contractual sick pay are not paid, see the ‘ Remedies’ section of Practice Note: Sick pay......