# The European Parliamentary (United Kingdom Representatives) Pensions (Consolidation and Amendment) Order 1994, Note: Explanatory note


(This note is not part of the Order)
This Order consolidates, with amendments, and revokes the European Parliament (United Kingdom Representatives) Pensions Order 1980 and the Orders amending that Order.
Some changes constitute no more than the omission of spent provisions. For example, because of the change in the accrual rate in 1984, consequential provisions were introduced to enable Representatives to apply to cancel added years of service purchased, but only by application within twelve months of 31st August 1985.
There are also a number of changes of substance.
Article 4 provides for Representatives to choose to opt out of the scheme, as required by social security legislation. A Representative who exercises the right also has a right to opt back in, exercisable within three months after the date of a General Election of Representatives or a by-election at which he was elected to the Parliament. Article 20 contains a consequential provision enabling accrued pension benefits to be transferred to a personal pension scheme on opt-out.
Article 5 contains a new provision stopping deductions from a Representative’s salary if he has sufficient reckonable service to earn a maximum pension.
Article 10 introduces new early retirement provisions, under which a full accrued pension is payable from the age of 60 and an abated pension from the age of 50 to a Representative who has the requisite amount of service. Provision is also made for service as a Member of the House of Commons, including service before this Order, to count towards the qualifying period of service. The previous arrangements for early retirement at a dissolution have been revoked, except in so far as they provide for early abated pensions without a qualifying period of service.
Article 11 incorporates improved enhancement rules in relation to ill-health pensions, by providing for an increase in the aggregate period of reckonable service equal to the full period of potential pensionable service to the age of 65.
Articles 12, 14, 16 and 17 alter the amount of widows' and widowers' benefits, children’s benefits and death gratuity.
Article 18 introduces a guarantee which continues payment in full to a Representative’s survivors of a pension which has come into payment before that Representative’s death until the expiry of the period of five years after it first came into payment. If at any relevant time there are no survivors qualifying for a pension, a lump sum is paid in lieu.
Amendments are also made to apply the earnings cap imposed by section 590C of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988, to Representatives who joined the scheme after 1st June 1989 and to bring the Order into line with current social security legislation.
Section 4(3)(g) of the European Parliament (Pay and Pensions Act) 1979 confers express power to make Orders retrospective in effect. Part II of Schedule 8 extends many of the changes introduced by this Order to former Representatives who, at the date this Order comes into force, are pensioners or deferred pensioners. This is achieved by way of retrospective amendments to the European Parliament (United Kingdom Representatives) Pensions Order 1980. Provision is made for opting-out where rights in relation to former Representatives could be adversely affected (article 31).

---
Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1994/1662/note (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/european-parliamentary-united-kingdom-representatives-pensions-consolidation-and-amendment-order-1994/note
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.