The Electricity (Protected Persons) (England and Wales) Pension Regulations 1990

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations–

“the Act” means the Electricity Act 1989;

“accrue” means to become entitled to pension rights in respect of employment while a member of a relevant scheme, including increases in accrued pension rights under that relevant scheme arising pursuant to increases in remuneration;

“accrued pension rights” means the pension rights, other than future pension rights and (except where the context otherwise requires) any pension rights provided by a state pension scheme, to which a protected person is from time to time entitled;

“alternative scheme” means a scheme to which regulation 8 applies;

“company group” means any holding company and its subsidiaries which are treated as a group for the purposes of Part VII of Schedule 4 to the Companies Act 1985(1) as originally enacted;

“employer” includes, in respect of a protected beneficiary, the person within a pension group to whom the protected beneficiary is treated as allocated for the purpose of valuing the accrued pension rights of that beneficiary within that group, and “employment” shall be construed accordingly;

“future pension rights” means the pension rights referred to in regulation 7;

“parent company” means, in respect of a company which is wholly owned by any other company, that other company;

“participate” means–

(a)

in respect of a protected employee, being a member of a relevant scheme for the purpose of accruing pension rights;

(b)

in respect of a protected beneficiary, being entitled either prospectively or contingently (otherwise than as a result of the death of another protected person) or currently to a pension under a relevant scheme; and

(c)

in respect of an employer, adhering to a relevant scheme for the purpose of providing pension rights,

and cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly;

“pension group” means a company, or two or more companies, which are required to be treated as a single entity within a relevant scheme for the purpose of valuing the assets and liabilities of that scheme;

“the Pension Scheme” means the Electricity Supply Pension Scheme;

“protected beneficiary” means any person to whom regulation 4 applies;

“protected employee” means any person to whom regulation 3 applies;

“protected person” means any person who is a protected beneficiary or a protected employee;

“relevant scheme” means the Pension Scheme or an alternative scheme;

“successor company” means a company nominated for the purposes of section 65(1) or 66(1) or (2) of the Act;

“the Taxes Act” means the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988(2);

“transfer date rights” means the future pension rights provided by the Pension Scheme in the form in which it is on the transfer date, together with all amendments to the Pension Scheme which are made–

(a)

by the Electricity Council before the transfer date (regardless of the date on which the amendments take effect); or

(b)

by regulations under the Act,

but excluding any amendments made otherwise and expressed to take effect before or on the transfer date.

(2) Unless the context otherwise requires, any reference in these Regulations to a numbered regulation or Schedule is a reference to the regulation in or the Schedule to these Regulations bearing that number; and any reference in a regulation to a numbered paragraph is a reference to the paragraph of that regulation bearing that number.

(3) Where an employer is a member of a pension group in a relevant scheme, any reference in these Regulations to that scheme shall be construed as a reference to the provisions of that scheme which relate to that pension group and any reference in these Regulations to protected persons in, the accrued pension rights under or the future pension rights provided by that scheme shall be construed as a reference to protected persons in, the accrued pension rights under or the future pension rights provided by that scheme in respect of the pension group of which that employer is a member.

(4) Where a relevant scheme provides different benefits for different categories of protected persons, any reference in these Regulations to that scheme shall be construed as a reference to that part of that scheme which relates to the category of which the protected person is a member or (in the case of a person transferring to that scheme) would be entitled to be a member.

(1)

1985 c. 6.

(2)

1988 c. 1.