The Financial Assistance Scheme (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2010

(a) in the case of a reviewable determination which— (i) is made before the coming into force of the Financial Assistance Scheme (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2010; and (ii) relates to scheme notification or scheme eligibility, before the end of the period of two months beginning on the date on which that determination was made; (aa) in the case of a reviewable determination which— (i) is made after the coming into force of the Financial Assistance Scheme (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2010; and (ii) relates to scheme notification or scheme eligibility, before the end of the period of one month beginning on the date on which that determination was made; (ab) in the case of a reviewable determination which relates to member assessment or ill health payment assessment, at any time after the date on which that determination was made; (ac) in the case of a reviewable determination which relates to valuation approval, before the end of the period of 21 days beginning on the date on which that determination was made;

• (b) in paragraph (1)(b)(ii) omit “or member assessment”;

• (c) in paragraph (1)(c)(ii) for “member assessment, ill health payment assessment,” substitute “indexation assessment, section 134 or Article 118 directions, lump sum assessment, early retiree assessment, scheme beneficiaries assessment;”; and

• (d) in paragraph (3) after “paragraph (1)(a)” insert “, (aa)”.

• (5) In regulation 6 (applications for a review of a reviewable determination)—

• (a) in paragraph (1), after sub-paragraph (a) insert—

(aa) which relates to section 134 or Article 118 directions may be made by any person to whom a direction under section 134 of the Act or Article 118 of the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 2005 has been given; (ab) which relates to valuation approval may be made by the trustees or managers of the qualifying pension scheme or a representative of those trustees or managers appointed under regulation 17(1);

• (b) in paragraph (1)(b) after “severe ill health eligibility” insert “, indexation assessment, lump sum assessment, scheme beneficiaries assessment, early retirees assessment”.

Amendment of the FAS Appeals Regulations

21

• (1) The FAS Appeals Regulations are amended in accordance with this regulation.

• (2) In regulation 2 (interpretation)—

• (a) after the definition of “Deputy PPF Ombudsman” insert—

• “early retiree assessment decision” means a review decision made by the scheme manager under the FAS Internal Review Regulations which relates to a determination as to whether or not a person is entitled to a payment in accordance with regulation 17H of the FAS Regulations (payments to qualifying members receiving a pension from the qualifying pension scheme before entitlement to an annual payment or ill health payment)

• (b) in the definition of “ill health payment assessment decision”, for “Schedule 2A” substitute “Schedule 2A, 5 or 6”;

• (c) after the definition of “ill health payment assessment decision” insert—

• “indexation assessment decision” means a review decision made by the scheme manager under the FAS Internal Review Regulations which relates to a determination as to the amount of any annual increase to an annual payment or ill health payment determined in accordance with Schedules 2 to 6 to the FAS Regulations or as to the amount of any annual increases to a payment determined in accordance with Schedule 7 to the FAS Regulations;

• (d) after the definition of “interested person” insert—

• “lump sum assessment decision” means a review decision made by the scheme manager under the FAS Internal Review Regulations which relates to a determination as whether or not regulation 17D of the FAS Regulations (lump sum payments) applies in respect of a qualifying member and the amount of any lump sum determined in accordance with regulation 17D of the FAS Regulations;

• (e) in the definition of “member assessment decision”, for “Schedule 2” substitute “Schedule 2, 3 or 4”;

• (f) after the definition of “review decision” insert—

• “scheme beneficiaries decision” means a review decision made by the scheme manager under the FAS Internal Review Regulations which relates to a determination as to eligibility for and the amount of any payment in accordance with regulation 17G of the FAS Regulations (payments to beneficiaries other than qualifying members, survivors and surviving dependants);

• (g) after the definition of “scheme notification decision” insert—

• “section 134 or Article 118 directions decision” means a review decision made by the scheme manager under the FAS Internal Review Regulations which relates to the giving of a direction under section 134 of the Act or Article 118 of the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 2005;

• (h) after the definition of “terminal illness eligibility decision” insert—

• “valuation approval decision” means a review decision made by the scheme manager under the FAS Internal Review Regulations which relates to the approval of a valuation in respect of the qualifying scheme under regulation 25 of the FAS Regulations (approval of valuation);

• (3) In regulation 6(2) (notice of appeal)—

• (a) in sub-paragraph (b), after “a severe ill health eligibility decision” insert “, an early retiree assessment decision, a lump sum assessment decision, an indexation assessment decision, a scheme beneficiaries decision”; and

• (b) in sub-paragraph (c), after “a scheme notification decision” insert “, a section 134 or Article 118 directions decision, a valuation approval decision”.

• (4) In regulation 17(4)(a) (time and place of oral hearings), after “a survivor eligibility decision” insert “, a section 134 or Article 118 directions decision, a valuation approval decision, an early retiree assessment decision, a lump sum assessment decision, an indexation assessment decision, a scheme beneficiaries decision”.

SCHEDULE 1 — Insertion of Parts 7 to 9 of the FAS Regulations

SCHEDULE 2 — Insertion of Schedules 3 to 7 to the FAS Regulations

Signed

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.

Angela Eagle — Minister of State, — Department for Work and Pensions — 1st April 2010

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

EXPLANATORY NOTE

These Regulations amend the Financial Assistance Scheme Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/1986, as amended) (“the FAS Regulations”) which allow for payments to be made to, or in respect of, members or former members of certain occupational pension schemes where the liabilities of the scheme to those members have not been satisfied in full.

They also amend the Financial Assistance Scheme (Provision of Information and Administration of Payments) Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/2189, as amended), the Financial Assistance Scheme (Internal Review) Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/1994, as amended) and the Financial Assistance Scheme (Appeals) Regulations (S.I. 2005/3273, as amended) in relation to the financial assistance scheme (“the FAS”).

Part 2 and Schedules 1 and 2 amend the FAS Regulations. In particular they—

• (a) make amendments so that the Regulations extend to members and former members in respect of whom the scheme’s liabilities could be satisfied in full if the scheme were to wind up in the usual way (regulation 6);

• (b) place certain limitations on qualifying schemes making transfer payments, winding up lump sum payments and trivial commutation payments in respect of defined benefit pension rights (type=start slip=2011-10-01 time=1317732960229regulation 15(b))type=end slip=2011-10-01 time=1317732960229;

• (c) make provision for the scheme manager to require a valuation of the assets and liabilities of certain qualifying pension schemes (Schedule 1 – inserted regulations 21 to 26);

• (d) make provision for these schemes to transfer their assets to the Secretary of State after a valuation has been completed (through modification of section 161 of, and Schedule 6 to, the Pensions Act 2004 in regulation 15);

• (e) make provision for the scheme manager to calculate a notional pension that could be paid to, or in respect of, qualifying members using the scheme’s assets (Schedule 1 – inserted regulations 27 and 28);

• (f) amend the provisions of the FAS Regulations governing how payments are to be calculated (including the insertion of 5 new Schedules to cover how payments are to be calculated in different circumstances) to take account of the notional pension that has been calculated (regulations 8, 9, 16 and 17 and Schedule 2);

• (g) allow certain members to commute a part of their payment for a lump sum (regulation 10);

• (h) allow for the scheme manager to make payments in respect of death benefit guarantees in certain cases (regulation 11).

Part 3 amends the Financial Assistance Scheme (Provision of Information and Administration of Payments) Regulations 2005. In particular it amends the information which must be provided to the scheme manager (or to a person authorised by the scheme manager) to support the changes being made to the FAS and provides the scheme manager with the discretion to waive information requirements where circumstances make them unnecessary or burdensome.

Part 4 amends the Financial Assistance Scheme (Internal Review) Regulations 2005 and the Financial Assistance Scheme (Appeals) Regulations 2005 in order to ensure that new determinations created by the changes to the FAS are subject to internal review and appeals procedures. These include determinations in relation to the valuation of a scheme, determinations in relation to the amount of a lump sum that may be taken, determinations in relation to indexation and determinations in relation to eligibility for a payment.

Before making these Regulations the Secretary of State consulted such persons as the Secretary of State considered appropriate.

An impact assessment has been published for this instrument and is available on the DWP website: http://www.dwp.gov.uk.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 2004 c.35. Section 190 is modified in its application to the financial assistance scheme by paragraph 5 of Schedule 1 to S.I. 2005/1986. Section 286 was amended by section 18(2) and (3) of the Pensions Act 2007 (c.22) and by section 124 of the Pensions Act 2008 (c.30). Section 286 is modified in its application to multi-employer schemes by S.I. 2005/441 (amended by S.I. 2005/993, 2005/2113 and 2008/731). Section 318(1) is cited because of the meanings given to “prescribed” and “regulations”.

[^f00002]: S.I. 2005/3273 as amended by S.I. 2006/3370, 2008/1903, 2008/2683, 2009/792 and 2009/1851.

[^f00003]: S.I. 2005/2189 as amended by S.I. 2005/3256, 2007/3581, 2008/1903, 2009/792 and 2009/1851.

[^f00004]: S.I. 2005/1994 as amended by S.I. 2005/3256, 2006/349, 2006/3370, 2008/1903, 2009/792 and 2009/1851.

[^f00005]: S.I. 2005/1986 as amended by S.I. 2005/3256, 2006/3370, 2007/3581, 2008/1432, 2008/1903, 2008/3069, 2008/3241, 2009/792 and 2009/1851.

[^f00006]: Section 286A was inserted by section 125(1) of the Pensions Act 2008 (c.30).

[^f00007]: 1993 c.48.

[^f00008]: 1993 c.49.

[^f00009]: S.I. 1996/1847.

[^f00010]: S.R. 1996 No. 619.

[^f00011]: S.I. 2009/1851

[^f00012]: As modified by these Regulations.

[^f00013]: S.I. 1996/1172. Regulation 49 was amended by S.I. 2005/3377 and 2008/1903 and section 1(2) of, and Schedule 2 to, the Social Security Contributions (Transfer of Functions, etc.) Act 1999 (c.2).

[^f00014]: S.R. 1996 No. 493. Regulation 49 was amended by S.I. 1996/3377 and 2008/1903 and Article 3(2) of, and Schedule 2 to, the Social Security Contributions (Transfer of Functions, etc.) (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 (S.I. 1999/671).