Occupational Pension Schemes (Contracting-out) Regulations 1996

Refund of a contributions equivalent premium.

54.—(1) The Secretary of State shall refund a contributions equivalent premium if—

(a) it was paid in error; or

(b) he is satisfied that the employment to which it relates will be linked with another employment in the circumstances set out in regulation 43(2) and (3); or

(c) he is satisfied that the earner in respect of whom it was paid has entered into employment which is contracted-out employment by reference to the same contracted-out scheme as that by which the employment to which it relates was contracted-out employment, and that for the purpose of calculating the earner’s accrued rights under the scheme the two employments will be linked; or

(d) he is satisfied that a transfer of the earner’s accrued rights will be made in accordance with regulations under section 20 (transfer of accrued rights) or under section 12C (transfer, commutation etc.) of the 1993 Act; or

(e) the scheme is one under which a member may qualify for benefits by virtue of service either in employed earner’s employment or as a self-employed earner (within the meaning of section 2 of the Contributions and Benefits Act) or both and he is satisfied that the earner in respect of whom that premium was paid has completed a period of membership of the scheme as a self-employed earner which, when aggregated with his service in employed earner’s employment, amounts to not less than two years,

and, where a contributions equivalent premium is refunded under the provisions of this paragraph the earner’s accrued rights under the scheme, which were extinguished by payment of the premium, shall be restored.

(2) A refund under paragraph (1) shall only be made if application is made in writing, in such form as the Secretary of State may reasonably require for the purpose.

(3) In paragraph (1)(a) “error” means an error which—

(a) is made at the time of payment; and

(b) relates to some present or past matter.

(4) Where—

(a) an earner has been employed concurrently in two or more contracted-out employments, on the termination of one or more of which, a contributions equivalent premium has been paid; and

(b) the aggregate amount of any such payments has the effect that the National Insurance Fund has gained, by reference to any employment in respect of which such a payment has been made, a greater amount than it would have gained from Class 1 contributions under the Contributions and Benefits Act if those employments had not been contracted out,

there shall be paid out of the National Insurance Fund to the earner (or his estate) an amount which bears the same proportion to the amount of the excess as the reduction under paragraph (a) of subsection (1A) of section 41 of the 1993 Act(1), in the normal percentage of primary Class 1 contributions bears to the total reduction under that subsection in the total normal percentage of Class 1 contributions.

(5) The Secretary of State shall refund a contributions equivalent premium if he is satisfied that—

(a) where it was paid in the circumstances mentioned in section 55(2A)(a), (b), (d) or (e) of the 1993 Act, the person in respect of whom it was paid has died, without leaving a widow or widower, on or before the later of the days first mentioned in sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) respectively of regulation 52(1); or

(b) where it was paid in the circumstances mentioned in paragraph (2A)(c) of that section, there are no accrued rights to guaranteed minimum pensions or section 9(2B) rights under the scheme in question in respect of the widow or widower in question.

(1)

Section 41(1A) was inserted by section 137(2) of the Pensions Act 1995.