The British Transport Commission (Pensions of Employees) Regulations 1953

Commencement, Citation and Interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations shall come into operation on the 13th day of October, 1953, and shall have effect from the 6th May, 1953.

(2) These Regulations may be cited as the British Transport Commission (Pensions of Employees) Regulations, 1953.

(3) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires, the following expressions have the meanings hereby respectively assigned to them, that is to say—

“the Act” means the Transport Act, 1953:

“the Act of 1947” means the Transport Act, 1947:

“accrued pension rights” has the meaning assigned to it by paragraph (5) of this Regulation:

“an actuary” means a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries or the Faculty of Actuaries in Scotland:

“the Commission” means the British Transport Commission:

“an Executive” means an Executive established by or under section 5 of the Act of 1947:

“funded scheme” means a scheme, not being an insurance scheme, which relates in whole or in part to providing pensions to or in respect of officers or servants, such pensions being payable out of a fund held by any person for the purposes of the scheme:

“general scheme” means a scheme, not being a funded scheme or an insurance scheme, which relates in whole or in part to providing pensions to or in respect of officers or servants:

“insurance scheme” means a scheme for providing pensions to or in respect of officers or servants, such pensions being provided for by means of contracts or policies made or effected with a life assurance company (including contracts or policies made or effected with such a company for the purpose of implementing any form of private superannuation fund):

“life assurance company” means an insurance company carrying on life assurance business within the meaning of the Assurance Companies Acts, 1909 to 1946(1) :

“the Minister” means the Minister of Transport:

“officer or servant” means a person employed as a member of the Commission or of an Executive or as an officer or servant by the Commission (whether or not the employment is by virtue of the Act of 1947 to be treated as employment by an Executive):

“pensionable officer or servant” means an officer or servant who has pension rights:

“pensionable service” in relation to a pensionable officer or servant includes any period ranking for benefit under his pension scheme:

“the relevant age” means 65 years for males and 60 years for females:

“relevant event” means—

(a)

the exercise by the Commission of the duties imposed on them by the Act as to the disposal of the property held by the Commission for the purposes of the existing road haulage undertaking; or

(b)

the modifications of the functions of the Commission effected by the Act; or

(c)

the coming into operation of any provisions of a scheme under the Act relating to the re-organisation of that part of the Commission's undertaking which consists in the operation of the railways or of any Order of the Minister amending such a scheme,

as the case may be:

“relevant period” in relation to a cause of loss, diminution or change arising, means within ten years of—

(a)

where the relevant event is that specified in paragraph (a) of the definition of that expression, the 14th August, 1953;

(b)

where the relevant event is that specified in paragraph (b) of the said definition, the 6th May, 1953;

(c)

where the relevant event is that specified in paragraph (c) of the said definition, the coming into operation of any provisions of the scheme or the Order of the Minister amending such a scheme:

“tribunal” means a referee or board of referees appointed by the Minister of Labour and National Service after consultation with the Lord Chancellor or, where the proceedings are to be held in Scotland, after consultation with the Secretary of State.

(4) In relation to an officer or servant who immediately before the date of losing his employment as an officer or servant in consequence of the relevant event had the right of continuing in that employment beyond the relevant age, these Regulations shall have effect as though references therein to “the relevant age” were references to the minimum age at which the officer or servant could have been required to retire if he had not lost employment as an officer or servant in consequence of the relevant event, or, if there is no such age, his actual age at the time when he could have been required to retire if he had not lost his employment as aforesaid.

(5) In these Regulations, the expression “accrued pension rights” in relation to an officer or servant means any right to the payment on or after his reaching the relevant age or on or after the happening of any other contingency (which expression includes the exercise of any right to receive a pension on retirement before reaching the relevant age) carrying entitlement to pension under his scheme—

(a) if his scheme is an insurance scheme, of the pension which would have been payable to or in respect of him by virtue of any premiums paid by or in respect of him under the scheme up to the date on which he loses his employment as an officer or servant; or

(b) if his scheme is a funded scheme or a general scheme and the scheme is a scheme under which the pension rights are related by some specific proportion to pensionable service and pensionable emoluments, of a pension payable to or in respect of him calculated at such fraction or fractions of his pensionable emoluments in respect of each year or part of a year of his pensionable service as would have been applicable under that scheme in the calculation of the pension, if he had at the date when he loses his employment as an officer or servant reached the relevant age or, as the case may be, had the other contingency then happened, and there had been no requirement of the scheme or provision as to a minimum qualifying period of service; or

(c) if his scheme is a funded scheme or a general scheme and the scheme is a scheme under which the pension rights are not related by some specific proportion to pensionable service and pensionable emoluments, of a pension payable to or in respect of him calculated on reaching the relevant age or, as the case may be, on the happening of the other contingency, as follows:—

(i) on reaching the relevant age, the pension which would have been payable under the scheme had he continued to be a participant in the scheme until that age without increase of emoluments, but reduced in the proportion which the number of years of pensionable service under the scheme before he loses his employment as an officer or servant bears to the number of years of pensionable service which he would have rendered had he continued to be a participant in the scheme until the relevant age; or

(ii) on the happening of the other contingency, the pension which would have been payable under the scheme if the contingency had happened at the time when he loses his employment as an officer or servant with the corresponding emoluments and length of service and there had been no requirement of the scheme as to a minimum qualifying period of service:

Provided that for the purpose of ascertaining the amount of any pension under sub-paragraphs (b) and (c) of this paragraph no account shall be taken of any right to payments of pension on account of temporary periods of incapacity which exceed in total amount or total period of payment the maximum amount or period laid down in the relevant scheme or provision.

(6) The Interpretation Act, 1889, shall apply to the interpretation of these Regulations as it applies to the interpretation of an Act of Parliament.

2.  Where any person, being a pensionable officer or servant, is entitled under his pension scheme, on ceasing to be a pensionable officer or servant, to receive any payment by way of a return of contributions paid by or in respect of him, with or without interest thereon, he may, at any time within three months of the date upon which he loses his employment as a pensionable officer or servant, exercise his right to receive such a payment; and where such a right is exercised by any person the subsequent provisions of these Regulations shall not apply to him, and the persons managing the scheme, the persons in whom any fund held for the purposes of the scheme is vested and the Commission shall be discharged from all other liability under the scheme to or in respect of that person or to any other person by reason of that right having been exercised.

(1)

See 9 Edw. 7. c. 49 and 9 & 10 Geo. 6. c. 28.