Section 5: Commencement
33.Section 5 provides for two distinct commencement dates. Subsection (1) provides for a number of provisions to come into force on Royal Assent but only for limited purposes. The limited purposes enable the appointment of trustees and allow participating scheme members to be able to make choices in relation to the level of their scheme member contributions which will apply from the date the remainder of the new scheme rules come into force. The provisions coming into force on the day of Royal Assent are:
sections 4 and 6 which contain definitions of expressions and the Act’s short title;
section 5;
rules 4 and 8 to 11 of schedule 1 which provide for the appointment, conditions, remuneration, resignation and removal of Fund trustees; and
paragraph 1 of schedule 3 in relation to to definition of terms in that schedule; paragraph 4 of schedule 3 in relation to the provisions for scheme members determining what level of contributions they wish to make from the date the new scheme rules come into force; and paragraph 9 of the schedule in relation to the special provisions for participants who reach age 75 between Royal assent and new rules day.
34.Subsection (2) brings section 3 into force on Royal Assent. That section makes provision for modification of the scheme rules, the grants rules, the transitional and saving provisions and the 1999 pensions order. Therefore these provisions could be amended before the general coming-into-force day although the resolution modification power under section 3 is subject to a restriction that, until the remainder of the Act comes into force, only a member of the SPCB may move such a resolution.
35.By virtue of subsection (3) the remainder of the Act comes into force on the first day of the first month following the date which occurs six months after Royal Assent.
