Social Welfare And Pensions Act 2009

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Priorities on winding up of relevant scheme.

16.— Section 48 (inserted by section 33 of the Pensions (Amendment) Act 2002 ) of the Principal Act is amended by—

(a) the insertion of the following subsections after subsection (1):

“(1A) Notwithstanding subsection (1), in applying the resources of a relevant scheme that is wound up after the passing of the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2009, or had wound up and had not discharged any of the liabilities of the scheme at the date of the passing of the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2009, the trustees shall discharge the liabilities of the scheme for the following benefits in the following order:

(a) firstly, all additional benefits secured or granted by way of additional voluntary contributions or a transfer of rights from another scheme to which paragraph 2 of the Third Schedule relates to the extent that the rights to which the transfer relates were originally secured or granted by way of additional voluntary contributions;

(b) secondly, the benefits (not including post-retirement increases in such benefits) specified in paragraph 1 of the Third Schedule to or in respect of those persons, who, at the date of the winding up of the scheme, were within the categories referred to in that paragraph, to the extent that those benefits have not already been discharged;

(c) thirdly, the benefits (not including post-retirement increases in such benefits) specified in paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 of the Third Schedule to or in respect of those members of the scheme who, at the date of winding up of the scheme, were within the categories referred to in those paragraphs, to the extent that those benefits have not already been discharged; and

(d) fourthly, the benefits specified in paragraphs 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the Third Schedule to or in respect of those persons and members of the scheme, who at the date of the winding up of the scheme, were within any of the categories referred to in any of those paragraphs, to the extent that those benefits have not already been discharged,

before discharging the liabilities of the scheme for other benefits.

(1B) The liabilities of the scheme in respect of the benefits to which paragraph (d) of subsection (1A) applies shall rank equally between each other and shall be paid in full unless the resources of the scheme are insufficient to meet those liabilities, in which case they shall abate in equal proportions as between each other.”,

and

(b) the insertion of the following subsections after subsection (4):

“(5) For the purposes of this section, a relevant scheme is wound up on the date of the doing of such act, the happening of such event, or the making of such decision as, under the rules of the scheme, requires that the scheme be wound up, and “date of the winding up” shall, in relation to a relevant scheme, be construed accordingly.

(6) References in the Third Schedule to effective date of the certificate shall, for the purposes of this section, be construed as references to the date of the winding up of the relevant scheme concerned.”.