Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 Explanatory Notes

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  1. Introduction

  2. Overview

    1. Background to the Act

      1. The measures in the Act

    2. 1.

      Stakeholder Pension Schemes

      1. Background

      2. The measures in the Act

    3. 2.

      Pension Sharing on Divorce

      1. Background

      2. The measures in the Act

    4. 3.

      Bereavement Benefits

      1. Background

      2. The Government’s reforms

      3. The measures in the Act

    5. 4.

      Welfare to Work

      1. Background

      2. The measures in the Act

    6. 5.

      Long Term Illness and Disability

      1. Background

      2. The measures in the Act

    7. 6.

      National Insurance contributions (NICs)

      1. Background

      2. The measures in the Act

    8. 7.

      Miscellaneous Measures

  3. Parliamentary Stages

  4. Commentary on Sections

    1. Part I: Stakeholder Pension Schemes

    2. Background

    3. Commentary

      1. Section 1: meaning of “stakeholder pension scheme”

      2. Section 2: Registration of stakeholder pension schemes

      3. Section 3: Duty of employers to facilitate access to stakeholder pension schemes

      4. Section 4: Obtaining information with respect to compliance with section 3

      5. Section 5: Inspection of premises

      6. Section 6: Application of certain enactments

      7. Section 7: Reduced rates of contributions etc: power to specify different percentages

      8. Section 8: Interpretation of Part I

      9. Schedule 1: Application of the 1993 and 1995 Acts to stakeholder pension schemes

        1. Northern Ireland stakeholder pension scheme legislation

      10. Part II: Pensions: General

        1. Section 9: Monitoring of employers’ payments to personal pension schemes

        2. Section 10: Late payments by employers to occupational pension schemes

        3. Section 11: Effect of bankruptcy on pension rights: approved arrangements

        4. Section 12: Effect of bankruptcy on pension rights: unapproved arrangements

        5. Section 14: No forfeiture on bankruptcy of rights under pension schemes

        6. Sections 15-16: Excessive pension contributions made by persons who have become bankrupt

          1. Application for a court order (new section 342A)

          2. Court orders (new sections 342B and 342C)

          3. Pension sharing and bankruptcy

        7. Section 17: Compensating occupational pension schemes

        8. Section 18: Miscellaneous amendments

        9. Schedule 2: Miscellaneous amendments

          1. Paragraphs 1 and 2: Income payments orders against pension payments

          2. Paragraph 3: Extended meaning of “personal pension scheme”

          3. Paragraph 4 : Revaluation of earnings factors: meaning of “relevant year”

          4. Paragraph 5 : Interim arrangements

          5. Paragraph 6: Effect of certain orders on guaranteed minimum pensions

          6. Paragraph 7 : Mandatory payment of contribution equivalent premium

          7. Paragraph 8: Payment by Secretary of State of unpaid pension contributions

          8. Paragraphs 9 to 11: Supervision by the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority

          9. Paragraph 9

          10. Paragraph 10

          11. Paragraph 11

          12. Paragraph 12: Occupational pension schemes: institutions who may hold money deposited by trustees etc.

          13. Paragraph 13: Annual increase in rate of pension

          14. Paragraph 14: Occupational pension schemes: certificates etc. relating to minimum funding requirement

          15. Paragraph 15: Excess assets of wound up schemes

          16. Paragraph 16: Pensions Compensation Board

          17. Paragraph 17: Diligence against pensions: Scotland

          18. Paragraph 18: Pensionable service

          19. Paragraph 19: Occupational pension schemes: rights of an employee who is director of a corporate trustee

      11. Parts III-IV: Pensions on Divorce and Nullity

        Background

    4. The pension sharing sections

    5. Structure of the provisions about pensions on divorce and nullity

      1. Part III

      2. Part IV

      3. Part VI

    6. Summary of pension sharing provisions

      1. Part III

      2. Part IV

        1. Chapter I

        2. Chapter II

      3. Part VI

        1. General

  5. Commentary

    1. Part III – Pensions on Divorce Etc.

      1. Section 19: Pension sharing orders in England and Wales

      2. Section 20: Pension sharing orders in Scotland

      3. Section 21: Sections 25B to 25D of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973

      4. Section 22: Extension to overseas divorces etc.

      5. Section 25: Power to make consequential amendments of Part III.

    2. Part IV – Pension Sharing

      1. Chapter I – Sharing of Rights under Pension Arrangements

        1. Section 27: Scope of pension sharing mechanism

        2. Section 28: Activation of pension sharing

        3. Section 29: Creation of pension debits and credits

        4. Section 30: Calculation of cash equivalents

    3. Pension debits

      1. Section 31: Reduction of benefit

      2. Section 32: Effect on contracted-out rights

      3. Section 33: Time for discharge of liability

      4. Section 34: “Implementation period”

      5. Section 35: Mode of discharge of liability

      6. Section 33: Time for discharge of liability

      7. Section 34: “Implementation period”

      8. Section 35: Mode of discharge of liability

      9. Section 36: Safeguarded rights

      10. Section 37: Requirements relating to pension credit benefit

      11. Chapter I

      12. Chapter II

        1. Section 101K

        2. Section 38: Treatment in winding up

    4. Indexation

      1. Section 39: Public service schemes

      2. Section 40: Other pension schemes

      3. Section 41: Charges by pension arrangements

    5. Adaptation of statutory schemes

      1. Section 42: Extension of scheme-making powers

      2. Section 43: Power to extend judicial pension schemes

    6. Supplementary

      1. Section 44: Disapplication of restrictions on alienation

      2. Section 45: Information

      3. Chapter II – Sharing of State Scheme Rights

        1. Section 47: Shareable state scheme rights

        2. Section 48: Activation of benefit sharing

        3. Section 49: Creation of state scheme pension debits and credits

        4. Section 50: Effect of state scheme pension debits and credits

        5. Schedule 3: Pension sharing orders: England and Wales

        6. Schedule 5: Pension credits: mode of discharge

          1. Funded pension schemes

          2. Unfunded public service pension schemes

          3. Other unfunded occupational pension schemes

          4. Other pension arrangements

        7. Schedule 6: Effect of state scheme pension debits and credits

        8. Schedule 8: Part VII: Retirement Pensions.

        9. Schedule 12: Consequential amendments – Part I

      4. Part V: Welfare

        1. Chapter I: Social Security Benefits

          1. Section 52: Preservation of rights in respect of additional pension

            1. Commentary

          2. Section 53: Extension of entitlement to state Maternity Allowance

            1. Background

            2. Summary of changes

            3. Commentary

          3. Sections 54-56: Benefits for Widows and Widowers

    7. Background

      1. Summary of changes

    8. Commentary

      1. Section 54: Bereavement Payment

      2. Section 55: New allowances for bereaved spouses

        1. Widowed Parent’s Allowance

        2. Bereavement Allowance

      3. Section 56: Additional Pension

        1. Commentary: the inserted section 48BB

      4. Schedule 8: Consequential amendments

      5. Sections 57-58: Work-Focused Interviews

      6. Section 57: Work-focused interviews

    9. Background

    10. Commentary

      1. The power itself

      2. How the power would be used

      3. Supplementary provisions

        1. Section 58: Optional work-focused interviews

          1. Background

      4. Commentary

        1. Sections 59-60: Jobseeker’s Allowance

        2. Section 59 and Schedule 7: Joint claims for Jobseeker’s Allowance

    11. Background

    12. Commentary

      1. Payment where one member of the joint-claim couple has breached new section 20A

      2. Transition to a joint claim

      3. Continuity of claims and awards

      4. Claims yet to be determined and suspended payments

        1. Section 60: Special schemes for claimants of Jobseeker’s Allowance

          1. Background

      5. Commentary

        1. Section 61: Incapacity for Work

          1. Background

      6. Summary of changes

        1. Section 61: Incapacity for work: Personal Capability Assessments

        2. Schedule 8: Part II – Incapacity

        3. Sections 62-65: Incapacity Benefits

        4. Section 62: Incapacity Benefit: restriction to recent contributors

      7. Commentary

        1. Section 63: Incapacity Benefit: reduction for pension payments

      8. Commentary

        1. Section 64: Incapacity benefit: persons incapacitated in youth

        2. Section 65: Abolition of Severe Disablement Allowance;

        3. Sections 66-67: Disability Benefits

    13. Background

    14. Commentary

      1. Section 66: Attendance Allowance

        1. Regulation-making powers

        2. Attendance Allowance for the terminally ill

      2. Section 67: Disability Living Allowance

        1. Awards made “for life”

        2. Entitlement to the higher-rate mobility component of DLA

      3. Sections 68-72: Miscellaneous Provisions

      4. Section 68: Certain overpayments of benefit not to be recoverable

        1. Commentary

      5. Section 69: Child Benefit: claimant to state national insurance number

        1. Background

      6. Section 70: Welfare benefits: miscellaneous amendments

        1. Background

      7. Section 71: Sharing of functions as regards certain claims and information

        1. Background

        2. Commentary

      8. Schedule 12Part II

      9. Section 72: Disclosure and use of information

        1. Background

        2. The ONE service

        3. Employment Zones

        4. New Deal for Partners of Unemployed People, New Deal for Lone Parents and New Deal for Disabled People

        5. Personal Capability Assessment

        6. Data Protection

        7. Commentary

      10. Chapter II: National Insurance Contributions

        1. Sections 73 & 74 (and Schedules 9 and 10): New threshold for primary Class 1 contributions

          1. Background

            1. Schedule 9

    15. Commentary

      1. Part I

      2. Part II

      3. Part III

        1. Sections 75 and 76: Earnings of workers supplied by service companies etc.

          1. Background

          2. Commentary

        2. Sections 77 and 78: National Insurance Class 1B contributions

          1. Background

        3. Schedule 13Parts VI and VII: Repeals : National Insurance contributions

          1. Background

        4. Chapter III: Other Welfare Provisions

          1. Section 79: measures to reduce under-occupation by housing benefit claimants

          2. Section 80: Supply of information for child support purposes

            1. Commentary

      4. Part VI: General

        1. Section 81: Contributions and pensions administration

        2. Section 82: Authorisation of certain expenditure

          1. Commentary

        3. Section 83: Regulations and orders

        4. Section 84 Consequential amendments etc.

        5. Section 85: Transitional provisions

        6. Section 87: Corresponding provision for Northern Ireland

        7. Section 88: Repeals

        8. Section 89: Commencement

        9. Section 90: Extent

        10. Section 91: Short title, general interpretation and Scottish devolution

  6. Schedules

  7. Commencement

  8. Glossary

    1. Administration Act

    2. All Work Test

    3. Annuity

    4. Attendance Allowance (AA)

    5. Contributions and Benefits Act

    6. Contracting out

    7. Disability Living Allowance (DLA)

    8. Housing Benefit (HB)

    9. Incapacity Benefit (IB)

    10. Income Support (IS)

    11. Jobseekers Act

    12. Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)

    13. Lower Earnings Limit (LEL)

    14. Maternity Allowance

    15. National Insurance contributions

    16. National Insurance number

    17. Occupational pension scheme

    18. Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority (OPRA)

    19. Pension Schemes Act 1993 (“the 1993 Act”)

    20. Pensions Act 1995 (“the 1995 Act”)

    21. Personal pension

    22. Severe Disablement Allowance (SDA)

    23. State Earnings Related Pension Scheme (SERPS)

    24. Upper Earnings Limit (UEL)

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