Judicial Pensions and Retirement Act 1993

3 The appropriate annual rate

(1) In the case of a person who has, at the time of his retirement from qualifying judicial office, completed, in the aggregate, at least 20 years' service in such office, the “appropriate annual rate” for the purposes of this Act is an annual rate equal to one-half of his pensionable pay.

(2) In the case of a person not falling within subsection (1) above, the “appropriate annual rate” for the purposes of this Act is an amount equal to one-fortieth of his pensionable pay, multiplied by the aggregate length of his service in qualifying judicial office (expressed in years and fractions of a year).

(3) For the purposes of this Act—

(a) a person’s “pensionable pay” is the greater of the following amounts, that is to say—

(i) the pension-capped salary payable to him in respect of his service in qualifying judicial office in the period of twelve months ending with the day on which, within the meaning of section 590C(1) of the [1988 c. 1.] Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 (earnings cap), his participation in the scheme constituted by this Part ceases; and

(ii) the greatest amount of pension-capped salary payable to him in respect of such service in any other period of twelve consecutive months falling within the period of three years ending with that day;

(b) a person’s “pension-capped salary” for any period of twelve months is so much of his aggregate salary in respect of service in qualifying judicial office in that period as, within the meaning of section 590C(1) of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 (earnings cap), does not exceed the permitted maximum for the year of assessment in which his participation in the scheme constituted by this Part ceases;

(c) a person’s salary in respect of service in any qualifying judicial office shall be taken to accrue due from day to day, at the rate for the time being in force, throughout the period for which he holds the office;

(d) if, in consequence of periods of ill-health, the rate at which a person’s salary in respect of service in any qualifying judicial office is payable to him for any period falling within the three years mentioned in paragraph (a)(ii) above is less than it would have been apart from the periods of ill-health, he shall be treated as if that salary had been payable to him throughout that period at the rate at which it would have been payable, apart from the periods of ill-health;

(e) in determining a person’s salary in respect of his service in qualifying judicial office, there shall be left out of account any part of the salary which is paid on terms which preclude rights to pensions and other benefits accruing by reference to it;

but paragraphs (a) and (b) above are subject to regulations under subsections (4) and (5) below.

(4) Regulations may make provision for any case where a person to whom this Part applies serves in qualifying judicial office neither—

(a) throughout the whole of the period of twelve months mentioned in subsection (3)(a)(i) above; nor

(b) throughout any other such period of twelve consecutive months as is mentioned in subsection (3)(a)(ii) above;

and any such regulations may, in particular, provide for such a person’s pensionable pay and pension-capped salary to be determined for the purposes of this Act as if he had served in his qualifying judicial office (whether full-time or part-time) throughout the whole of the period of twelve months mentioned in paragraph (a) above and had been paid in respect of that service a salary of an amount determined by reference to the annual rate of salary payable in his case in respect of service in that office in that period.

(5) Regulations may also make provision for any case where the service in qualifying judicial office of a person to whom this Part applies is, or has at some time been, only part-time, within the meaning of the regulations; and any such regulations may, in particular, provide for the amount of salary by reference to which his pension-capped salary (and accordingly his pensionable pay) would fall to be determined, apart from this subsection, to be reduced, for the purpose of making any such determination, in accordance with the regulations.

(6) In this section, “regulations” means regulations made by the appropriate Minister with the concurrence of the Treasury.