Superannuation (Northern Ireland) Order 1972

Recovery in certain circumstances of payments by way of injury allowances N.I.

5.—(1) The following provisions of this Article shall have effect where a scheme under Article 3 provides for the payment of a pension, allowance or gratuity to or in respect of a person who is incapacitated or dies as a result of an injury sustained or disease contracted in circumstances prescribed by the scheme, and a pension, allowance or gratuity is paid in accordance with the scheme to or in respect of a person in consequence of an injury or disease so sustained or contracted or of a death resulting from such injury or disease.

(2) If the scheme requires the Ministry to take into account, as against any sums otherwise payable under the scheme, any damages which are recovered or recoverable by or on behalf of the recipient of the pension, allowance or gratuity granted in consequence of the injury, disease or death, being damages in respect of that injury, disease or death, and the Ministry makes any payments without taking such damages into account, then if and when the Ministry is satisfied that there are any damages to be so taken into account, the Ministry shall have the right to recover from the recipient—

(a) where the amount of the payments made by the Ministry is less than the net amount of the damages, the amount of those payments;

(b) where the amount of those payments is not less than the net amount of the damages, such part of those payments as is equal to the net amount of the damages.

(3) So far as any amount recoverable under this Article represents a payment made by the Ministry from which income tax has been deducted before payment, the proper allowance shall be made in respect of the amount so deducted, and in this Article “the net amount of the damages” means the amount of the damages after deducting any tax payable in the United Kingdom or elsewhere to which the damages are subject.

(4) No proceedings shall be brought to recover any amount under this Article—

(a) after the death of the recipient of the payments; or

(b) after the expiration of two years from the date on which the amount of the damages taken into account in arriving at the amount so recoverable is finally determined (whether in court proceedings or in arbitration proceedings or by agreement between the parties) or from the date on which the final determination of that amount first came to the knowledge of the Ministry, whichever date is the later.

(5) A certificate issued by the Ministry and stating the date on which the final determination of any amount of damages first came to the knowledge of the Ministry shall be admissible in any proceedings as sufficient evidence of that date.

(6) The provisions of this Article are without prejudice to any right of the Ministry under any such scheme to take damages into account by withholding or reducing any further sums otherwise payable to the recipient of the pension, allowance or gratuity.