The Personal Pension Schemes (Transfer Payments) Regulations 2001

PART II PROVISION FOR THE MAKING OF TRANSFER PAYMENTS

Basic obligations

4.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2) and regulation 8, where the administrator of a personal pension scheme is requested so to do in writing by an individual who is a member of the scheme, he shall make a transfer payment from the scheme to—

(a) another personal pension scheme; or

(b) an approved retirement benefits scheme of which the individual is an existing scheme member (otherwise than in relation to the transfer payment); or

(c) a relevant statutory scheme of which the individual is an existing scheme member (otherwise than in relation to the transfer payment);

but not to any other approved retirement benefits scheme or relevant statutory scheme.

(2) The transfer payment shall, in respect of arrangements made by the individual in accordance with the scheme which are (wholly or partly) the subject of the transfer request, comprise the whole of the accumulated funds held in connection with those arrangements except that, where the fund—

(a) includes protected rights, or

(b) has been, or will be, used to pay a personal pension protected rights premium,

the amount of the funds which represents those rights or has been, or will be, so used may be excluded from the transfer payment.

(3) Before making a transfer payment the administrator shall take all reasonable steps to ensure that the payment is being made to a scheme referred to in paragraph (1)(a) to (c).

(4) The reference in the words of paragraph (1) preceding sub-paragraph (a) to an individual who is a member of a scheme shall be treated as including a reference to a surviving spouse or dependant mentioned in regulation 14(3)(c).

Transfer payments from one personal pension scheme to another—additional obligation to hand over a lump sum certificate where any of the payments originated from certain schemes mentioned in Chapter I

5.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the administrator of a personal pension scheme (“the paying scheme”) from which a transfer payment is made in the circumstances described in paragraph (3) shall, on the making of the payment, give the certificate referred to in paragraph (3)(b) to the administrator of the personal pension scheme to which the payment is made (“the receiving scheme”).

(2) Where only one (or some) of the arrangements made by the individual in accordance with the scheme is being transferred, the administrator of the paying scheme shall apportion any amount shown on the certificate on a proportionate basis, and shall prepare and sign replacement certificates in respect of each part of the funds (including in a case where the amount is nil), and shall give the replacement certificate relating to the funds transferred to the administrator of the receiving scheme.

(3) The circumstances described in this paragraph are where the transfer payment is made from the paying scheme to another personal pension scheme and—

(a) the payment or part of the payment had its origin in a transfer payment (“the original payment”) from an approved retirement benefits scheme or a relevant statutory scheme, and

(b) the administrator of the paying scheme holds a certificate which was given in relation to the original payment or any other event showing either—

(i) that an amount is payable out of that payment by way of lump sum to the individual in respect of whom the transfer payment will be made, on his pension date, or

(ii) that no amount is payable out of that payment by way of lump sum to that individual on his pension date.

Transfer payments from a personal pension scheme to certain schemes mentioned in Chapter I—additional obligation to hand over a “nil” lump sum certificate where any of the payments originated from such schemes

6.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the administrator of a personal pension scheme (“the paying scheme”) from which a transfer payment is made in the circumstances described in paragraph (3) shall, on the making of the payment, give the certificate referred to in paragraph (3)(b) to the administrator of the approved retirement benefits scheme or relevant statutory scheme to which the payment is made (“the receiving scheme”).

(2) Where only one (or some) of the arrangements made by the individual in accordance with the scheme is being transferred, the administrator of the paying scheme shall prepare and sign replacement certificates, each in the amount of nil, in respect of each part of the funds, and shall give the replacement certificate relating to the funds transferred to the administrator of the receiving scheme.

(3) The circumstances described in this paragraph are where the transfer payment is made from the paying scheme to an approved retirement benefits scheme or a relevant statutory scheme and—

(a) the payment or part of the payment had its origin in a transfer payment (“the original payment”) from an approved retirement benefits scheme or relevant statutory scheme, and

(b) the administrator of the paying scheme holds a certificate which was given in relation to the original payment or any other event showing that no amount may be paid out of that payment by way of lump sum to the individual in respect of whom the transfer payment will be made.