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Regulation 181 Forfeiture: offences committed by members, surviving partners or eligible childrenI1

England and Wales

(1)

If a member, surviving partner or eligible child is convicted of a relevant offence, the scheme manager may, to such extent and for such duration as it considers appropriate, withhold pensions payable under this scheme to—

(a)

the member;

(b)

any person in respect of the member;

(c)

a surviving partner; or

(d)

an eligible child.

(2)

Where a surviving partner’s or an eligible child’s pension under Part 6 (death benefits) is to be withheld under paragraph (1) as a result of a relevant offence falling under sub-paragraph (a) or (b) of the definition of that expression in paragraph (5), the offence must have been committed after the death on which the person became entitled to the surviving partner’s or eligible child’s pension, as the case may be.

(3)

The scheme manager may only withhold that part of a person’s pension that exceeds any guaranteed minimum to which the person is entitled under—

(a)

section 14 of PSA 1993 (earner’s guaranteed minimum); or

(b)

section 17 (minimum pensions for widows and widowers)f1 of that Act.

(4)

The scheme manager may, at any time and to such extent and for such duration as it thinks fit—

(a)

apply for the benefit of any dependant of the member; or

(b)

restore to the member,

so much of any pension as has been withheld under this regulation.

(5)

In this regulation—

  • “forfeiture certificate” (“tystysgrif fforffedu”) means a certificate stating that the Welsh Ministers consider that the offence—

    1. (a)

      has been gravely injurious to the interests of the State, or

    2. (b)

      is liable to lead to serious loss of confidence in the public service;

  • “relevant offence” (“trosedd berthnasol”) means—

    1. (a)

      an offence of treason,

    2. (b)

      an offence under the Official Secrets Acts 1911 to 1989f2 F1, or under section 18 of, or listed in section 33(3)(a) of, the National Security Act 2023, for which the member has been sentenced on the same occasion—

      1. (i)

        to a term of imprisonment of at least 10 years, or

      2. (ii)

        to two or more consecutive terms amounting in the aggregate to at least 10 years, or

    3. (c)

      an offence—

      1. (i)

        committed in connection with the member’s scheme employment; and

      2. (ii)

        in respect of which the Welsh Ministers have issued a forfeiture certificate.

Annotations

Textual amendments

F1

Words in reg. 181(5) inserted (20.12.2023) by The National Security Act 2023 (Consequential Amendments of Subordinate Legislation) Regulations 2023 (S.I. 2023/1267), reg. 1(2), Sch. para. 43(2)

Commencement

I1

Reg. 181 in force at 1.4.2015, see reg. 1(2)

Footnotes

f1

Section 17 was amended by the Social Security Contributions (Transfer of Functions, etc.) Act 1999 (c. 2), Schedule 1, paragraph 39; the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000 (c. 19), Schedule 5, paragraph 1 and Schedule 9, Part 3; the Pensions Act 2004 (c. 35), section 284(2); the Pensions Act 2007 (c. 22) section 14(2); the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 (c. 30), Schedule 4, paragraphs 18 and 20; and S.I. 2005/2050 and 2014/560.

f2

1989 c. 6; see section 16(2) for the meaning of “Official Secrets Acts 1911 to 1989”.