Explanatory note

These Regulations amend the Overseas Service (Pensions Supplement) Regulations 1995 (“the principal Regulations”), which provide for payment by the Secretary of State of inflation-proofing supplements on pensions paid to or in respect of certain officers who have served in overseas territories.

Under the principal Regulations the supplement is an amount (“the addition”) corresponding to the inflation-proofing increases which United Kingdom civil service pensioners receive under Part I of the Pensions (Increase) Act 1971, less an amount (“the total overseas increase”) being the sum of overseas increases, that is additions to the amount of the pension apart from supplement under the principal Regulations.

Regulation 2 amends the principal Regulations to cater for the situation where a person is in receipt of a periodical pension and the overseas authority paying the pension gives him a lump sum bonus. The Regulations provide for the amount of this lump sum to be apportioned among the periodical payments of pension during the year following the date when it is due to be paid, and for the allocated amounts to be treated as an overseas increase of each periodical payment. The allocation will normally be among the periodical payments equally, but the Secretary of State has discretion to allocate among the periodical payments on a different basis if the pensioner so requests.

Regulation 3 amends the principal Regulations to provide for conversion into sterling of a lump sum which is payable in a currency other than sterling. This is to be done at the exchange rate on the day when the lump sum is paid.

Regulation 4 corrects an error in the specification of dates relevant to calculation of supplement in Schedule 3 to the principal Regulations.