Many of its regulations were brought into force in 1997, covering aspects of occupational and personal pension schemes.
Insurance Encyclopedia
Pension Schemes Registry
A part of Opra, PSR lists the occupational schemes covered by Opra and helps members trace schemes with which they have lost touch. It also enables Opra to check that every scheme has paid its levy.
Pension sharing order
Enables divorcing couples to share their pensions following a court order at the time of the divorce. The arrangement will reduce the value of the member’s pension rights by a specified percentage (the pension debit) and an equivalent amount pension credit will be transferred to the ex-spouse. Pension sharing does not apply to the basic state pension, unmarried couples or to separated couples.
Pension sharing/splitting
Splitting of pension benefits between a divorced couple means ‘a clean break’ instead of remaining financially linked until retirement age as happens with earmarking. The ex-spouse is entitled to a pension credit that remains in the member’s current scheme or is transferred to a separate pension arrangement; most pension schemes insist upon the latter. The split means each can decide, within IR limits, when to take their pensions. but the ex-spouse is subject to the member’s chosen retirement date. The original term pension splitting now called pension sharing.
Pension splitting
See: PENSION SHARING.
Pension transfer
Transfer of the cash value from one approved pension scheme to another. A transfer payment is made to the member’s receiving scheme.
Pension trust fund
Fund that consists of money contributed by the employer and, in some cases, the employees to provide retirement benefits. Contributions are paid to a trustee who invests the money, collects the interest, and disburses the benefits under the terms of the trust agreement. Pension trusts can be either self-administered or partially insured with benefits purchased from an insurance company by the trustee. Also called trust fund plan.
Pension trust fund (Pensions)
A fund comprised of money intended pay for pension benefits. This money is contributed by the employer and the employee.
Pensionable earnings
1. See NET RELEVANT EARNINGS. 2. Pensionable earnings/salary are the earnings on which pension scheme benefits and contributions are calculated as defined in the scheme rules. Normally it refers to total PAYE earnings from the employer for the relevant tax year and therefore includes bonuses, overtime, commissions and benefits in kind. Some final salary schemes may restrict ‘pensionable earnings’ to the member’s basic salary; definitions vary so full PAYE (P60) earnings are not necessarily the scheme’s pensionable earnings.
Pensionable salary
Definitions are by scheme rules. In a final salary scheme it is not necessarily the salary in the last year of service. See PENSIONABLE EARNINGS.