# Occupational Pension Schemes (Contracting-out) Regulations 1996, Regulation 37: Circumstances in which the age-related payments are not to be paid.


(1) An age-related payment shall not be paid in respect of an earner for the tax year or part of the tax year in which that earner—
(a) reaches pensionable age; or
(b) dies and in which he would have reached pensionable age.
(1A) Subject to paragraph (2), where the earner is no longer a member of the scheme which before the abolition date was a money purchase contracted-out scheme, an age-related payment shall be paid—
(a) to the trustees or managers of the scheme, if the earner has become a member of another scheme, and the scheme is able to transfer the payment to that other scheme,
(b) to the trustees or managers of another scheme of which the earner is a member, if known to HMRC , or
(c) in all other circumstances, to the earner.
(2) Where effect has been given to protected rights under section 28 of the 1993 Act (ways of giving effect to protected rights) as it had effect prior to the abolition date, age-related payments shall not, except as provided for by paragraphs (3) to (6), be paid in respect of an earner for any tax year or part of a tax year before effect had been given to that earner’s protected rights.
(3) Where effect has been given to the earner’s protected rights by the purchase of an annuity or by the provision by the scheme of a pension and the amount of the age-related payment in question is at least 10 times as great as the weekly lower earnings limit for the tax year in which the Secretary of State first becomes aware that the age-related payment is payable or would have been payable but for paragraph (2), the age-related payments shall be paid (in the case of an annuity) to the insurance company from which the annuity had been purchased, or (in the case of a pension) to the trustees or managers of the scheme.
(4) Where effect has been given to the earner’s protected rights but the circumstances described in paragraph (3) do not exist the age-related payments shall be payable to the earner or the earner’s widow, widower or surviving civil partner, or if the earner was not married or a civil partner at the time of his or her death, they may at the Secretary of State’s discretion be paid to any person.
(5) Where effect has been given to the earner’s protected rights by the provision of a lump sum, the age-related payment shall be payable to the earner or the earner’s widow, widower or surviving civil partner or, if the earner was not married or a civil partner at the time of his or her death, they may at the Secretary of State’s discretion be paid to any person.
(6) Where effect has been given to the earner’s protected rights by virtue of a transfer payment to another money purchase contracted-out scheme or a salary-related scheme and either the whole or part of a contributions equivalent premium has not been paid or no election to pay the whole or part of the contributions equivalent premium has been received by the Secretary of State, or to an appropriate personal pension scheme or an overseas scheme, the age-related payments shall be payable up to the date on which the transfer payment was made to the trustees or managers of that other scheme.
(7) Where effect has been given to the earner’s protected rights by means of an appropriate policy of insurance by virtue of section 32A of the 1993 Act (discharge of protected rights on winding up: insurance policies) as it had effect prior to the abolition date, the age-related payments in respect of the tax year or part of the tax year before the tax year in which either the earner reaches pensionable age, or dies and in which he would have reached pensionable age, shall be payable to the insurance company with which that policy of insurance is or was taken out or entered into.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1996/1172/regulation/37 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/occupational-pension-schemes-contracting-out-regulations-1996/regulation-37
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.