The Pensions Act 2008 (Abolition of Protected Rights) (Consequential Amendments) (No.2) (Amendment) Order 2012

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order is made under section 145 of the Pensions Act 2008 (c.30), which provides for amendments to be made in consequence of section 106 of that Act. Section 106 provides that pension schemes contracted-out on a defined contributions basis are not required to make special provision in relation to the protected rights of members, from the contracting-out abolition date (the date of the coming into force of section 15(1) of the Pensions Act 2007 (c.22)).

This Order amends the Pensions Act 2008 (Abolition of Protected Rights) (Consequential Amendments) (No.2) Order 2011 (S.I. 2011/1730) in relation to amendments to provisions which deal with protected rights payments, that is, pension payments which give effect to a member’s protected rights, as they existed before the abolition date. The amendments remove the protection given to protected rights payments in bankruptcy proceedings and remove the prohibition on assigning protected rights payments, as such payments will no longer be identifiable after the abolition date.

This Order and S.I. 2011/1730 reduce the costs of administrative burdens on the private sector and civil society organisations. An assessment of the impact was included in the impact assessment for S.I. 2011/1730 which remains valid subsequent to amendment by this instrument; a copy is available from the libraries of both Houses of Parliament and is annexed to the Explanatory Memorandum of S.I. 2011/1730 which is available alongside that instrument at www.legislation.gov.uk.