Finance Act 1998

94 Approval of personal pension schemes

(1) After section 638 of the Taxes Act 1988 there shall be inserted the following section—

“638A Power to prescribe restrictions on approval

(1) The Board—

(a) may by regulations restrict their discretion to approve a personal pension scheme; and

(b) shall not approve any such scheme if to do so would be inconsistent with any regulations under this section.

(2) The restrictions that may be imposed by regulations under this section may be imposed by reference to any one or more of the following, that is to say—

(a) the benefits for which the scheme provides;

(b) the investments held for the purposes of the scheme;

(c) the manner in which the scheme is administered;

(d) any other circumstances whatever.

(3) The following provisions of this section apply where—

(a) any regulations are made under this section imposing a restriction (“the new restriction”) on the Board’s discretion to approve a personal pension scheme;

(b) the new restriction did not exist immediately before the making of the regulations; and

(c) that restriction is one imposed by reference to circumstances other than the benefits for which the scheme provides.

(4) Subject to subsections (5) and (6) below, a personal pension scheme which is an approved scheme immediately before the day on which the regulations imposing the new restriction come into force shall cease to be approved at the end of the period of 36 months beginning with that day if, at the end of that period, the scheme—

(a) contains a provision of a prohibited description, or

(b) does not contain every provision which is a provision of a required description.

(5) The Board may by regulations provide that subsection (4) above is not to apply in the case of the inclusion of such provisions of a prohibited description, or in the case of the omission of such provisions of a required description, as may be specified in the regulations.

(6) For the purposes of subsection (4) above—

(a) a provision contained in a scheme shall not be treated as being of a prohibited description to the extent that it authorises the retention of an investment held immediately before the day of the making of the new regulations; and

(b) so much of any provision contained in a scheme as authorises the retention of an investment held immediately before that day shall be disregarded in determining if any provision of the scheme is of a required description.

(7) In this section—

(a) references to a provision of a prohibited description are references to a provision of a description which, by virtue of the new restriction, is a description of provision which, if contained in a personal pension scheme, would prevent the Board from approving it; and

(b) references to a provision of a required description are references to a provision of a description which, by virtue of the new restriction, is a description of provision which must be contained in a personal pension scheme before the Board may approve it.”

(2) Accordingly, in section 631(2) of that Act (power to approve schemes), for “638” there shall be substituted “638A”.