Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999

1. Introductory Text

2. Part I Stakeholder pension schemes

   1. 1. Meaning of “stakeholder pension scheme”.

   2. 2. Registration of stakeholder pension schemes.

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

   4. 4. Obtaining information with respect to compliance with section 3 and corresponding Northern Ireland legislation.

   5. 5. Powers of inspection for securing compliance with section 3 and corresponding Northern Ireland legislation.

   6. 6. Application of certain enactments.

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

   8. 8. Interpretation and application of Part I.

3. Part II Pensions: general

   1. Payments by employers to pension schemes

      1. 9. Monitoring of employers' payments to personal pension schemes.

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

   2. Pensions and bankruptcy

      1. 11. Effect of bankruptcy on pension rights: approved arrangements.

      2. 12. Effect of bankruptcy on pension rights: unapproved arrangements.

      3. 13. Sections 11 and 12: application to Scotland.

      4. 14. No forfeiture on bankruptcy of rights under pension schemes.

      5. 15. Excessive pension contributions made by persons who have become bankrupt.

      6. 16. Excessive pension contributions made by persons who have become bankrupt: Scotland.

   3. Miscellaneous

      1. 17. Compensating occupational pension schemes.

      2. 18. Miscellaneous amendments.

4. Part III Pensions on divorce etc.

   1. Pension sharing orders

      1. 19. Orders in England and Wales.

      2. 20. Orders in Scotland.

   2. Sections 25B to 25D of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973

      1. 21. Amendments.

      2. 22. Extension to overseas divorces etc.

   3. Miscellaneous

      1. 23. Supply of pension information in connection with divorce etc.

      2. 24. Charges by pension arrangements in relation to earmarking orders.

   4. Supplementary

      1. 25. Power to make consequential amendments of Part III.

      2. 26. Interpretation of Part III.

5. Part IV Pension sharing

   1. Chapter I Sharing of rights under pension arrangements

      1. Pension sharing mechanism

         1. 27. Scope of mechanism.

         2. 28. Activation of pension sharing.

         3. 29. Creation of pension debits and credits.

         4. 30. Cash equivalents.

      2. Pension debits

         1. 31. Reduction of benefit.

         2. 32. Effect on contracted-out rights.

      3. Pension credits

         1. 33. Time for discharge of liability.

         2. 34. “Implementation period”.

         3. 35. Mode of discharge of liability.

      4. Treatment of pension credit rights under schemes

         1. 36. Safeguarded rights.

         2. 37. Requirements relating to pension credit benefit.

         3. 38. Treatment in winding up.

      5. Indexation

         1. 39. Public service pension schemes.

         2. 40. Other pension schemes.

      6. Charges by pension arrangements

         1. 41. Charges in respect of pension sharing costs.

      7. Adaptation of statutory schemes

         1. 42. Extension of scheme-making powers.

         2. 43. Power to extend judicial pension schemes.

      8. Supplementary

         1. 44. Disapplication of restrictions on alienation.

         2. 45. Information.

         3. 46. Interpretation of Chapter I.

   2. Chapter II Sharing of state scheme rights

      1. 47. Shareable state scheme rights.

      2. 48. Activation of benefit sharing.

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

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

      5. 51. Interpretation of Chapter II.

6. Part V Welfare

   1. Chapter I Social security benefits

      1. Additional pensions

         1. 52. Preservation of rights in respect of additional pensions.

      2. State maternity allowance

         1. 53. Extension of entitlement to state maternity allowance.

      3. Benefits for widows and widowers

         1. 54. Bereavement payments.

         2. 55. New allowances for bereaved spouses.

         3. 56. Entitlement to Category B retirement pension by reference to new allowances.

      4. Work-focused interviews

         1. 57. Claim or full entitlement to certain benefits conditional on work-focused interview.

         2. 58. Optional work-focused interviews.

      5. Jobseeker’s allowance

         1. 59. Couples to make joint claim for allowance.

         2. 60. Special schemes for claimants for jobseeker’s allowance.

      6. Incapacity for work

         1. 61. Incapacity for work: personal capability assessments.

      7. Incapacity benefits

         1. 62. Incapacity benefit: restriction to recent contributors.

         2. 63. Incapacity benefit: reduction for pension payments.

         3. 64. Incapacity benefit: persons incapacitated in youth.

         4. 65. Abolition of severe disablement allowance.

      8. Disability benefits

         1. 66. Attendance allowance.

         2. 67. Disability living allowance.

      9. Miscellaneous

         1. 68. Certain overpayments of benefit not to be recoverable.

         2. 69. Child benefit: claimant to state national insurance number.

         3. 70. Welfare benefits: miscellaneous amendments.

      10. Supplementary

          1. 71. Sharing of functions as regards claims and information.

          2. 72. Supply of information for certain purposes.

   2. Chapter II National Insurance contributions

      1. 73. New threshold for primary Class 1 contributions.

      2. 74. New threshold for primary Class 1 contributions: Northern Ireland.

      3. 75. Earnings of workers supplied by service companies etc.

      4. 76. Earnings of workers supplied by service companies etc: Northern Ireland.

      5. 77. Class 1B contributions.

      6. 78. Class 1B contributions: Northern Ireland.

   3. Chapter III Other welfare provisions

      1. 79. Measures to reduce under-occupation by housing benefit claimants.

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

7. Part VI General

   1. Miscellaneous

      1. 81. Contributions and pensions administration.

      2. 82. Authorisation of certain expenditure.

   2. Supplementary

      1. 83. Regulations and orders.

      2. 84. Consequential amendments etc.

      3. 85. Transitional provisions.

      4. 86. General financial provisions.

      5. 87. Corresponding provisions for Northern Ireland.

      6. 88. Repeals.

      7. 89. Commencement.

      8. 90. Extent.

      9. 91. Short title, general interpretation and Scottish devolution.

8. Schedules:

   1. Schedule 1

      Application of 1993 and 1995 Acts to registered schemes.

   2. Schedule 2

      Pensions: miscellaneous amendments.

   3. Schedule 3

      Pension sharing orders: England and Wales.

   4. Schedule 4

      Amendments of sections 25B to 25D of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973.

   5. Schedule 5

      Pension credits: mode of discharge.

   6. Schedule 6

      Effect of state scheme pension debits and credits.

   7. Schedule 7

      Joint claims for jobseeker’s allowance.

   8. Schedule 8

      Welfare benefits: minor and consequential amendments.

      1. Part I Bereavement benefits.

      2. Part II Incapacity.

      3. Part III Abolition of severe disablement allowance.

      4. Part IV Income support.

      5. Part V Jobseeker’s allowance.

      6. Part VI Maternity allowance.

      7. Part VII Retirement pensions.

      8. Part VIII Administration of benefits.

   9. Schedule 9

      New threshold for primary Class 1 contributions.

      1. Part I New primary threshold.

      2. Part II Reduced contributions in respect of members of contracted-out schemes.

      3. Part III National Health Service allocation.

   10. Schedule 10

       New threshold for primary Class 1 contributions: Northern Ireland.

       1. Part I New primary threshold.

       2. Part II Reduced contributions in respect of members of contracted-out schemes.

       3. Part III Health Service allocation.

   11. Schedule 11

       Contributions and pensions administration.

   12. Schedule 12

       Consequential amendments.

       1. Part I Amendments consequential on Parts III and IV.

       2. Part II Other consequential amendments.

   13. Schedule 13

       Repeals.

       1. Part I Pensions: miscellaneous.

       2. Part II Pensions on divorce etc.

       3. Part III Pension sharing.

       4. Part IV Abolition of severe disablement allowance.

       5. Part V Benefits: miscellaneous.

       6. Part VI National Insurance contributions etc.

       7. Part VII National Insurance contributions etc: Northern Ireland.