Finance Act 2004

Pre-commencement pensions

20 (1) This paragraph makes provision about an individual who, on 5th April 2006, has an actual (rather than a prospective) right to the payment of one or more relevant existing pensions.

(2) Section 219 (availability of individual’s lifetime allowance) applies as if, immediately before the first benefit crystallisation event occurring in relation to the individual—

(a) a benefit crystallisation event had occurred in relation to the individual, and

(b) the amount crystallised was the value of the individual’s pre-commencement pension rights immediately before the benefit crystallisation event.

(3) The value of the individual’s pre-commencement pension rights at any time is—

25 × ARP

where (subject to sub-paragraph (4)) ARP is an amount equal to—

(a)

the annual rate at which the relevant existing pension is payable to the individual at that time, or

(b)

if more than one relevant existing pension is payable to the individual at that time, the aggregate of the annual rates at which each of the relevant existing pensions is so payable.

(4) In the case of unsecured pension or alternatively secured pension ARP is the maximum amount that may be paid in the unsecured pension year or alternatively secured pension year in which the time falls in accordance with pension rule 5 or pension rule 7 (see section 165).

(5) In this paragraph “relevant existing pension” has the same meaning as in paragraph 10(2); and paragraph 10(4) and (5) operates for the purposes of this paragraph for determining the annual rate at which a relevant existing pension is payable at any time (treating the references there to 5th April 2006 as to that time).