Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988

Section 603.

SCHEDULE 22 REDUCTION OF PENSION FUND SURPLUSES

1 (1) The Board may make regulations providing for this Schedule to apply, as from a prescribed date, in relation to any exempt approved scheme which is of a prescribed kind.

(2) The Board may make regulations providing for prescribed provisions of this Schedule to apply, as from a prescribed date, in prescribed circumstances, and subject to any prescribed omissions or modifications, in relation to any exempt approved scheme of another prescribed kind.

(3) In this Schedule “prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Board.

2 (1) The administrator of a scheme in relation to which this Schedule applies shall, in prescribed circumstances and at a prescribed time, either produce to the Board a written valuation such as is mentioned in sub-paragraph (2) below or give to the Board a certificate such as is mentioned in sub-paragraph (3) below.

(2) The valuation must be a valuation of the assets held for the purposes of the scheme and the liabilities of the scheme, must be determined in accordance with prescribed principles and fulfil prescribed requirements, and must be signed by a person with qualifications of a prescribed kind.

(3) The certificate must state whether or not the value of the assets (as determined in accordance with prescribed principles) exceeds the value of the liabilities (as so determined) by a percentage which is more than a prescribed maximum, must be in a prescribed form, and must be signed by a person with qualifications of a prescribed kind.

3 (1) Subject to paragraph 4(4) below, where a valuation produced under paragraph 2 shows, or a certificate given under that paragraph states, that the value of the assets exceeds the value of the liabilities by a percentage which is more than the prescribed maximum, the administrator of the scheme shall within a prescribed period submit to the Board for their approval proposals which comply with sub-paragraph (2) below.

(2) The proposals must be proposals for reducing (or, subject to paragraph (b) below, eliminating) the excess in a way or ways set out in the proposals and falling within sub-paragraph (3) below; and they must be such as to secure that—

(a) by the end of a prescribed period the percentage (if any) by which the value of the assets exceeds the value of the liabilities is no more than the prescribed maximum; and

(b) if the way, or one of the ways, set out in the proposals falls within sub-paragraph (3)(a) below, there remains an excess which is of a level not less than the prescribed minimum.

(3) Subject to sub-paragraph (4) below, the permitted ways of reducing or eliminating the excess are—

(a) making payments to an employer;

(b) suspending for a period (of five years or less) set out in the proposals an employer’s obligation to pay contributions under the scheme or reducing for such a period the amount of an employer’s contributions under the scheme;

(c) suspending for a period (of five years or less) set out in the proposals the obligation of employees to pay contributions under the scheme or reducing for such a period the amount of employees' contributions under the scheme;

(d) improving existing benefits provided under the scheme;

(e) providing new benefits under the scheme;

(f) such other ways as may be prescribed.

(4) In prescribed circumstances sub-paragraph (3) above shall apply subject to such omissions or modifications as may be prescribed.

(5) Subject to paragraph 4(4) below, if the administrator of the scheme fails to submit proposals to the Board within the period mentioned in subparagraph (1) above, or if the proposals submitted to them within that period are not approved by the Board within a further prescribed period, paragraph 7 below shall apply.

4 (1) Where a valuation has been produced under paragraph 2 above, the Board may serve on the administrator of the scheme a notice requiring him to furnish the Board, within a prescribed period, with such particulars relating to the valuation as may be specified in the notice.

(2) Where a certificate has been given under paragraph 2 above, the Board may serve on the administrator of the scheme a notice requiring him to produce to the Board, within a prescribed period, a written valuation such as is mentioned in paragraph 2(2) above.

(3) Where a valuation has been produced in compliance with a notice served under sub-paragraph (2) above, the Board may serve on the administrator of the scheme a further notice requiring him to furnish the Board, within a prescribed period, with such particulars relating to the valuation as may be specified in the notice.

(4) Where a notice is served on the administrator of a scheme under sub-paragraph (1) or (2) above, paragraph 3(1) and (5) above shall cease to apply.

5 (1) Where particulars have been furnished under paragraph 4 above, or a valuation has been produced under that paragraph, the Board shall, within a prescribed period, serve on the administrator of the scheme a notice—

(a) stating that they accept the valuation produced under paragraph 2 or, as the case may be, 4 above; or

(b) stating that they do not accept the valuation so produced, and specifying their estimate of the value of the liabilities of the scheme at the relevant time and their estimate of the value of the assets held for the purposes of the scheme at that time.

(2) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (1)(b) above, the relevant time is the time specified in the valuation produced under paragraph 2 or 4 above as the time by reference to which the values of the assets and liabilities are determined.

(3) Where—

(a) in a case falling within sub-paragraph (1)(a) above, the valuation shows that the value of the assets exceeds the value of the liabilities by a percentage which is more than the prescribed maximum; or

(b) in a case falling within sub-paragraph (1)(b) above, the value of the assets as estimated by the Board exceeds the value of the liabilities as so estimated by a percentage which is more than the prescribed maximum;

the administrator of the scheme shall within a prescribed period submit to the Board for their approval proposals which comply with paragraph 3(2) to (4) above.

(4) If the administrator of the scheme fails to submit proposals to the Board within the period mentioned in sub-paragraph (3) above, or if proposals submitted to them within that period are not approved by the Board within a further prescribed period, paragraph 7 below shall apply.

6 (1) Where proposals are submitted to the Board under paragraph 3(1) or 5(3) above and they approve them within the further prescribed period mentioned in paragraph 3(5) or 5(4) above, the administrator of the scheme shall carry out the proposals within the period mentioned in paragraph 3(2) above.

(2) If the administrator fails to carry out the proposals within that period, paragraph 7 below shall apply.

7 (1) Where this paragraph applies the Board may specify a percentage equivalent to the fraction—

where—

• A represents their estimate of the value of the liabilities of the scheme at the relevant time increased by a prescribed percentage; and

• B represents their estimate of the value of the assets held for the purposes of the scheme at that time.

(2) For the purposes of this paragraph the relevant time is the time specified—

(a) in the valuation produced or certificate given under paragraph 2 above; or

(b) where a valuation has been produced under paragraph 4 above, in that valuation,

as the time by reference to which the values of the assets and liabilities are determined.

(3) Where a percentage has been so specified—

(a) section 592(2) shall apply only to that percentage of any income derived in the relevant period from the assets held for the purposes of the scheme;

(b) section 592(3) shall apply only to that percentage of any underwriting commissions applied in the relevant period for the purposes of the scheme;

(c) section 56 shall by virtue of subsection (3)(b) of that section not apply only to that percentage of any profits or gains arising to the scheme in the relevant period; and

(d) section 149B(1)(g) of the 1979 Act (capital gains tax exemption) shall apply only to that percentage of any gain accruing on the disposal in the relevant period of any of those assets.

(4) Sub-paragraphs (5) to (8) below shall apply where a percentage has been so specified, securities are transferred in the relevant period, and the transferor or transferee is such that, if he became entitled to any interest on them, exemption could be allowed under section 592(2).

(5) Section 715(1)(k) shall not apply.

(6) Where, in consequence of sub-paragraph (5) above, section 713(2)(a) or (3)(b) applies, the sum concerned shall be treated as reduced by an amount equal to the specified percentage of itself.

(7) Where, in consequence of sub-paragraph (5) above, section 713(2)(b) or (3)(a) applies, the relief concerned shall be treated as reduced by an amount equal to the specified percentage of itself.

(8) For the purposes of section 714(5), the amount of interest falling to be reduced by the amount of the allowance shall be treated as the amount found after applying section 592(2).

(9) In sub-paragraphs (4) to (8) above expressions which also appear in sections 710 to 728 have the same meanings as in those sections.

(10) In this paragraph “the relevant period” means the period begining at the relevant time and ending when it is proved to the satisfaction of the Board that the value of the assets (as determined in accordance with prescribed principles) exceeds the value of the liabilities (as so determined) by a percentage which is no more than the prescribed maximum.

8 (1) The Board may make regulations providing that an appeal may be brought against a notice under paragraph 5(1)(b) above as if it were notice of the decision of the Board on a claim made by the administrator of the scheme concerned.

(2) Regulations under this paragraph may include—

(a) provision that bringing an appeal shall suspend the operation of paragraph 5(3) and (4) above; and

(b) other provisions consequential on the provision that an appeal may be brought (including provisions modifying this Schedule).