Transitional provisions – short service refunds
302.Article N1 of the 1999 pensions order provides for refunds where the individual has less than two years service. Under rules 23(3) and 24(2) of Schedule 1, rights in the scheme now vest after three months. This allows short service benefits to be available prior to the two year service requirement of section 71 of the 1993 Act, but consequently refunds are only available to former members of the scheme with less than three months’ service. Transitional provision for current members is made at paragraph 16 of Schedule 3 allowing existing scheme participants to request a refund of contributions, if they have accrued less than two years total reckonable service.