Paragraph 1

The following section shall be inserted after section 44 of the M1Social Security Pensions Act 1975—

“ Transfer premiums.

44A

(1)

The Secretary of State may by regulations provide that, in such cases and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed, if—

(a)

an earner in employment to which an occupational pension scheme applies has ceased, whether before or after the commencement of this section, to be in that employment before attaining normal pension age; and

(b)

there has been a transfer from that scheme to another scheme of his accrued rights to requisite benefits other than his accrued rights to his and his widow’s guaranteed minimum pensions; and

(c)

the scheme to which his accrued rights are transferred is not a contracted-out scheme; and

(d)

no accrued rights premium is payable in respect of the earner; and

(e)

the circumstances in which by virtue of section 42(1)(a) and (b) above a contributions equivalent premium is payable do not exist,

a state scheme premium may be paid to the Secretary of State by the prescribed person within a prescribed time after the prescribed event.

(2)

A premium under subsection (1) above may be referred to as a “transfer premium”.

(3)

The amount of a transfer premium shall be determined in the manner in which the amount of an accrued rights premium falls to be determined under section 44 above, except that—

(a)

subsection (6) shall be disregarded; and

(b)

the Secretary of State shall apply the actuarial table prescribed for the purpose of calculating the amount of an accrued rights premium in such manner as may be prescribed.

(4)

Payment of a transfer premium shall extinguish the earner’s accrued rights to guaranteed minimum pensions under the scheme from which his other accrued rights to requisite benefits have been transferred.”.