The Armed Forces Pension Regulations 2014

CHAPTER 4 General

Pension ceases to be payable

124.—(1) A pension ceases to be payable to a member who re-enters pensionable service within 28 days after the last day of the service in respect of which the pension was payable (“earlier service”).

(2) If paragraph (1) applies in relation to a member, the scheme manager must—

(a) cease to pay the pension; and

(b) recover any overpayment made.

(3) The member becomes a deferred member in respect of the earlier service.

(4) The scheme manager must close the pension member’s account and establish a deferred member’s account in respect of the earlier service.

(5) The scheme manager must credit to the deferred member’s account as the provisional amount for each description of deferred pension the amount specified in the pension member’s account.

Re-employment after ill health awards

125.—(1) This regulation applies where—

(a) an ill health pension has been awarded to a member in respect of a continuous period of pensionable service (“earlier service”); and

(b) subsequently, the member re-enters pensionable service (“current service”).

(2) The ill health pension ceases to be payable on the first day of the current service.

(3) The member becomes a deferred member in respect of the earlier service.

(4) The scheme manager must close the pension member’s account and establish a deferred member’s account in respect of the earlier service.

(5) The scheme manager must credit to the deferred member’s account as the provisional amount for each description of deferred pension the amount specified in the pension member’s account less an amount attributable to the enhancement value under Chapter 3 of Part 5.

Payment of benefits

126.  Pensions payable under the scheme are payable by monthly instalments in arrears.

False statements etc about ill-health

127.—(1) This regulation applies where—

(a) a pension under Chapter 3 of Part 5 (Ill-Health Benefits) has been awarded to a member; and

(b) subsequently it appears to the scheme manager that the member made a false declaration about the member’s health or deliberately suppressed a material fact that was relevant to the award.

(2) The scheme manager may—

(a) cease paying the pension;

(b) withhold the whole or part of the pension; or

(c) recover any payment made under the award.

Non assignability

128.—(1) Every benefit to which a person is entitled under this scheme is payable to or for that person’s benefit.

(2) No such benefit is assignable or chargeable with the member’s or any other person’s debts.

(3) This regulation is without prejudice to anything that has effect by virtue of any enactment or may be done under or for the purposes of the Chelsea and Kilmainham Hospitals Act 1826.

General prohibition on unauthorised payments

129.  Nothing in these Regulations requires or authorises the making of any payment, which, if made, would be an unauthorised payment for the purposes of Part 4 of the FA 2004 (see section 160(5) of that Act).

Calculation of periods of membership and service

130.—(1) For the purposes of this scheme, periods of membership and service are to be expressed in the first instance in whole years, and days, and the initial aggregation of periods that require to be aggregated is done in the first instance by reference to periods so expressed.

This is subject to paragraph (3).

(2) If, when all periods of membership or service that are required to be aggregated have been aggregated, there is any excess part day over the number of whole days, that excess is rounded up to a full day.

This is subject to paragraph (3).

(3) If membership or service is referred to in these Regulations as membership or service in years—

(a) the days referred to in paragraph (1); and

(b) the full days referred to in paragraph (2)

are converted into years by dividing the number of days in excess of the period of whole years by 365 or in the case of a leap year 366, and rounding the result to 4 decimal places.

(4) If a period of membership or service is less than one year, this regulation applies as if the words “whole years, and” were omitted from paragraph (1) and the words “in excess of the period of whole years” were omitted from paragraph (3).

Determination of questions

131.  Except as otherwise provided by these Regulations, any question arising under this scheme is to be determined by the scheme manager, whose decision on it is final.

Information and evidence

132.—(1) The scheme manager may require any person who is receiving a pension under this scheme to provide evidence to establish—

(a) the person’s identity; and

(b) the person’s continuing entitlement to payment of any amount.

(2) If such evidence is not provided, the scheme manager may withhold the whole or any part of any benefits payable under this scheme in respect of the person.

Provision of benefit information statements to members

133.  The scheme manager must provide an annual benefit information statement to each active member of this scheme in accordance with Treasury directions made under section 14 of the Act (information about benefits).