The Judicial Pensions (Widows' and Children’s Benefits) Regulations 1987

PART III PERIODICAL PAYMENTS

Election to make periodical payments

8.—(1) Subject to the following provisions of this regulation, an office-holder may elect to make periodical payments.

(2) Without prejudice to regulation 9 or 11(6), periodical payments may only be made at the standard rate, that is to say–

(a) in the case of a 15-year office, 4 per cent.; and

(b) in the case of a 20-year office, 3 per cent.

of the office-holder’s salary for the time being.

(3) An office-holder who elects to make periodical payments must do so by notice in writing to the responsible authority not later than six months after his first appointment to his office–

Provided that an office-holder who marries (or re-marries) while in office and who is not then making periodical payments may elect to do so by giving notice in writing to the responsible authority not later than six months after his marriage or remarriage, as the case may be.

(4) An election made under this regulation shall be irrevocable, save that an office-holder who ceases to be married after having made such an election may revoke his election by notice in writing to the responsible authority not later than six months after his so ceasing.

(5) Nothing in this regulation shall be construed as preventing an office-holder who is not married from electing to make periodical payments.

(6) For the purposes of paragraph (3) above the appointment of an office-holder to another office (for example, the appointment to the circuit bench of a stipendiary magistrate or to the Court of Appeal of a puisne judge of the High Court) shall be treated as a first appointment.

Additional payments for back service

9.—(1) In this regulation–

“back service” means–

(a) service before 1st February 1974 (the date of the coming into force of the provisions reproduced in this Part); and

(b) in the case of an office-holder who has married on or after that date, service on or after that date for any period during which he has made no periodical payments;

“previous service” means back service before 18th April 1973.

(2) An office-holder who has back service and who elects to make periodical payments at the standard rate may also elect to make, in respect of that back service, additional payments at such one of the following rates as he may specify–

(a) if he is serving in a 15-year office, 4 per cent., 8 per cent. or 11 per cent. of his salary for the time being (that is to say, at the standard rate, or at twice, or at two and three quarters times that rate);

(b) if he is serving in a 20-year office, 3 per cent., 6 per cent., 9 per cent. or 12 per cent. of his salary for the time being (that is to say at the standard rate, or at twice, three times or four times that rate).

(3) An election under this regulation must have been made, or be made–

(a) not later than 30th June 1974; or

(b) in the case of an office-holder marrying (or remarrying) after 31st January 1974 and while still serving, not later than six months after his marriage or remarriage.

(4) An office-holder who has made an election under this regulation may at any time, by notice in writing to the responsible authority, either–

(a) revoke his election; or

(b) vary its effect by specifying a different rate of additional payments, being one of the rates mentioned in (a) or (b), as the case may be, of paragraph (2) above.

(5) An election made under this regulation shall, if it has not been previously revoked, cease to have effect when the offfice-holder has made additional payments for a period equal in length to his back service and for this purpose, subject to paragraph (6) below, for any period during which he has made additional payments at a rate higher than the standard rate, he shall be treated as having made such payments for a correspondingly longer period (so that, for example, if he has made additional payments at twice the standard rate for one year he shall be treated as having made additional payments for two years).

(6) If an office-holder’s back service includes previous service (that is service before 18th April 1973), then, for any period for which he has made additional payments at the standard rate (or in accordance with paragraph (2)(a) or (b) above, at a multiple of that rate), he shall be treated for the purpose of paragraph (5) above–

(a) as having made those payments for one and a half (or one and a half times the said multiple) times such part of that period as, so multiplied, does not exceed in length his previous service; and

(b) in respect of the remainder (if any) of that period, as having made the payments for the remainder (or for the said multiple of the remainder), according as the payments were made at the standard rate, or at a multiple of that rate.

For example, an office-holder with 12 months service before 18th April 1973 who has made additional payments at the standard rate for 24 months will be treated under paragraph (5) above and this paragraph as having made additional payments for 8 of the 24 months at one and a half times the standard rate, and for 16 months at the standard rate.

Method of payment

10.—(1) An election under regulation 8 or 9 shall, so long as it is in force, constitute an instruction to the responsible authority to deduct the appropriate amounts from the office-holder’s salary.

(2) Deductions under this regulation–

(a) shall be made from each instalment of the office-holder’s salary as it becomes due; and

(b) may, if the office-holder so requests, also be made at the appropriate rate in respect of the office-holder’s earlier salary specified in paragraph (3) below, and for this purpose the responsible authority may require the office-holder to repay such sum, if any, as may be necessary to make up the total deduction.

(3) The earlier salary mentioned above is the salary paid to the office-holder before the date of the relevant election–

(a) during the income tax year of assessment in which the relevant election was made, or

(b) during that year and during so much of the preceding year of assessment as elapsed after the relevant appointment, marriage or remarriage.

(4) No instruction under paragraph (1) above shall be taken to require the responsible authority to deduct, in any income tax year of assessment, more than 15 per cent. of the salary paid to the office-holder during that year.

Effect of making periodical payments

11.—(1) In this regulation–

“appropriate fraction” means 1/240 in the case of the holder of a 15-year office and 1/320 in the case of the holder of a 20-year offfice;

“full period” means 15 years in the case of the holder of a 15-year office and 20 years in the case of the holder of a 20-year office;

“gross reduction” means the amount by which an office-holder’s lump sum would, under Part II, be reduced if he had made no periodical payments;

“previous service” has the same meaning as in regulation 9.

(2) Subject to paragraph (6) below, an office-holder who makes periodical payments at the standard rate for the full period shall not be liable to make any further contribution notwithstanding that he continues in service for a further period.

(3) For the purposes of paragraph (2) above, an office-holder shall be treated, for every period of service during which he has made additional payments in accordance with regulation 9(2), as having made payments at the standard rate for an additional period equal to the period during which he has made (or is to be treated under regulation 9(5) or (6) as having made) such additional payments.

(4) If an office-holder retires or dies after having made periodical payments at the standard rate for less than the full period, the deficiency in his contributions shall be made up by a reduction in his lump sum, the amount of such reduction depending on the rate of personal pension he has earned and the length of the period during which he has made periodical payments and being calculated in accordance with paragraph (5) below.

(5) The amount of the reduction referred to in paragraph (4) above shall be arrived at by deducting from the gross reduction, for every month in respect of which the office-holder has made (or is to be treated, by virtue of regulation 9(5) and without regard to regulation 9(6), as having made) periodical payments at the standard rate, the appropriate fraction of his last annual salary.

(6) An office-holder with previous service who–

(a) has elected to make periodical payments and in whose case no election is in force under section 10(4)(a) of the Act of 1973; and

(b) is by virtue of the combined effect of regulation 9(6) and paragraph (3) above, entitled to be treated as having made periodical payments at the standard rate for the full period; and

(c) continues in service after having become so entitled,

shall, notwithstanding anything in paragraph (2) above, and without prejudice to any right under regulation 8(4) to revoke his election to make periodical payments, remain while so serving liable to continue to make periodical payments at a rate equivalent to one third of the standard rate until he has completed 15, or as the case may be 20, years' service after 17th April 1973.

Non-aggregable service

12.—(1) In this regulation–

(a) “primary office” means the office in respect of which eligibility for the personal pension arises;

(b) “secondary office” means an office other than the primary office;

(c) references to an election made by an office-holder include references to any election that may, if he has died, be made by another person in respect of him.

(2) This regulation applies to an office-holder whose successive periods of service in different offices are not aggregable (so as to be treated as service wholly in the latest office) for the purposes of eligibility for pension and who, under any relevant enactment, is entitled to elect between a pension based on service in a later office and one based on service in an earlier office.

(3) In determining the amount of any contribution to be made out of such office-holder’s lump sum, no account shall be taken of any periodical payments made by him during service in a secondary office if that service is to be disregarded for the purpose of determining the personal pension for which he elects and any such payments shall, in accordance with regulation 13, be refunded.

(4) If account is to be taken of service in a secondary office for the purpose of determining the personal pension for which the office-holder elects, then, for the purpose of regulation 11 above–

(a) if the primary and secondary offices were both 15-year offices or both 20-year offices, any period of service in the secondary office during which he made periodical payments shall be treated as if it had been a period of service in the primary office;

(b) if the primary office was a 20-year office and the secondary office a 15-year office, any such period shall be treated as if it had been a corresponding period of service in the primary office multiplied by a factor of 4/3; and

(c) if the primary office was a 15-year office and the secondary office a 20-year office, any such period shall be treated as if it had been a corresponding period of service in the primary office multiplied by a factor of 3/4.

Refunds of periodical payments

13.—(1) Periodical payments made by an office-holder shall (subject to paragraph (2) below) be refunded, with compound interest added at a rate of 4 per cent. a year, by the responsible authority to him (or, if he has died, to his personal representatives)–

(a) if his service proves to have been insufficient to earn any widow’s pension;

(b) if and insofar as the payments exceed those required to avoid any deficiency in his contribution being made up by a reduction in his lump sum; or

(c) in the circumstances mentioned in regulation 12(3).

(2) The responsible authority shall, in making any refund in pursuance of this regulation, deduct the appropriate amount in respect of tax charged under paragraph 2 of Part II of Schedule 5 to the Finance Act 1970(1).

Time limit for elections

14.  The responsible authority may, if satisfied in any particular case that it would be reasonable so to do, extend the time for giving any notice under these Regulations or for making any election under section 10(4) of the Act of 1973.

(1)

1970 c. 24; amended by section 21 of, and paragraph 8 of Schedule 3 to, the Finance Act 1981 (c. 68).