Postal Services Act 2011

Powers exercisable

17 Transfer of qualifying accrued rights to new public scheme

(1) The Secretary of State may by order establish a scheme (a “new public scheme”) which, in respect of pensionable service under the RMPP before the qualifying time, provides for pensions or other benefits to be payable to or in respect of persons who are or have been qualifying members of the RMPP.

(2) The Secretary of State may by order make provision for the transfer of qualifying accrued rights to a new public scheme (without the need for any approval or consent to the transfer).

(3) An order under subsection (2) may include provision for the discharge of liabilities in respect of the qualifying accrued rights that are transferred.

(4) A new public scheme may—

(a) include provision for increasing in particular circumstances the amounts payable in respect of qualifying accrued rights,

(b) include provision in relation to any persons who are active members of the RMPP which (despite the effect of section 16(3)) differs from the provision made in relation to persons who are deferred members of the RMPP,

(c) include provision for the payment of transfer values, and

(d) include provision for the transfer of money purchase benefits under the RMPP into the scheme (whether or not the contributions to which those benefits are attributable are made before or after the qualifying time) and the conversion of those benefits into benefits under the scheme.

(5) An order under this section may include provision for treating a new public scheme as an occupational pension scheme for the purposes of any provision made by or under any enactment specified, or of a description specified, in the order.

(6) An order under this section may include provision for—

(a) treating a new public scheme as a salary-related contracted out scheme for the purposes of Part 3 of the Pension Schemes Act 1993, and

(b) applying any provision of that Part with modifications.

(7) Provision made by an order under this section may have retrospective effect.

(8) The Secretary of State may—

(a) provide for a new public scheme to be administered by any person, and

(b) delegate to any person any functions exercisable by the Secretary of State under a new public scheme.

18 Division of the RMPP into different sections

(1) The Secretary of State may by order make provision for—

(a) the division of the RMPP into different sections,

(b) the participation of different companies in the different sections, and

(c) the allocation of assets, rights, liabilities or obligations between the different sections.

(2) Provision made by an order under this section may have retrospective effect.

19 Amendments of the RMPP

(1) The Secretary of State may by order make such amendments of the RMPP as the Secretary of State considers appropriate in connection with any order made under section 17 or 18.

(2) The provision that may be made by an order under this section includes provision authorising or requiring the amount of pensions or other benefits payable to or in respect of qualifying members of the RMPP to be determined in particular circumstances by reference to pensionable service under the RMPP before and after the qualifying time.

(3) Provision made by an order under this section may have retrospective effect.

20 Protection against adverse treatment

(1) Subsection (2) applies to the exercise by the Secretary of State of—

(a) the power to make an order under section 17 in a case where the order contains provision establishing a new public scheme or transferring qualifying accrued rights to a new public scheme, and

(b) the power to make an order under section 18 or 19.

(2) In exercising the power the Secretary of State must ensure that the relevant pensions provision in respect of each person who is or has been a member of the RMPP is, in all material respects, at least as good immediately after the exercise of the power as it is immediately before the exercise of the power.

(3) “The relevant pensions provision” means the provision for the payment of pensions or other benefits which is contained in the RMPP or in a new public scheme.

(4) Subsections (1) to (3) do not require provision to be included in a new public scheme if the Secretary of State is of the opinion that the provision would be incompatible with any enactment or EU obligation (including any enactment applying as a result of any provision made under this Part).

(5) Nothing in subsections (1) to (3) is to be read as—

(a) requiring particular provisions of the RMPP or a new public scheme to take the same or similar form,

(b) requiring a new public scheme to be established in a particular way,

(c) requiring any power or duty conferred or imposed by the RMPP or a new public scheme to be exercised or performed in a particular way, or

(d) affecting any power of any person to amend the RMPP or a new public scheme.

(6) The power of the Secretary of State to amend a new public scheme may not be exercised in any manner which would or might adversely affect any provision of the scheme made in respect of qualifying accrued rights unless—

(a) the consent requirements are satisfied in respect of the exercise of the power in that manner, or

(b) the scheme is amended in the prescribed manner.

(7) The consent requirements are those prescribed for the purpose of obtaining the consent of members of the scheme to its amendment.

21 Transfer of assets of the RMPP

(1) The Secretary of State may by order make provision for the transfer of assets of the RMPP to—

(a) the Secretary of State,

(b) a nominee of the Treasury, or

(c) a fund established by the Secretary of State for the purpose of holding the assets pending their disposal.

(2) An order under this section may be made only if an order under section 17 is being, or has been, made.

(3) An order under this section may include provision for—

(a) the delegation to any person of the administration and management of any fund within subsection (1)(c), and

(b) the making of payments into the Consolidated Fund.

(4) This section needs to be read with section 22 (which contains restrictions on the exercise of the power to make a transfer under this section).

22 Restriction on power to transfer assets

(1) The power of the Secretary of State to make an order under section 21 (a “transfer order”) must be exercised so as to secure that the ratio of assets to liabilities of the RMPP immediately after the relevant time is at least equal to the ratio of the assets to liabilities of the RMPP immediately before that time.

(2) “The relevant time” is the time at which the order under section 17 in consequence of which the transfer order is made has effect.

(3) For the purposes of this section any reference to the assets or liabilities of the RMPP is to their amount or value determined, calculated and verified by a prescribed person and in the prescribed manner.

(4) In calculating the value of any liabilities for those purposes, a provision of the RMPP that limits the amount of its liabilities by reference to the amount of its assets is to be disregarded.

(5) For the purposes of this section as it applies in relation to the transfer of assets after the relevant time by virtue of a transfer order—

(a) treat the assets as if they had been transferred at the relevant time, but

(b) disregard so much of the assets as were transferred to reflect the fact that the assets were not actually transferred at the relevant time.