§ Mr. Duncan-SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he plans to lay regulations before Parliament to allow occupational pension schemes to reinstate former employees' protected rights as he announced in his statement to the House on 23 June,Official Report, column 359.
§ Mr. HagueThe Protected Rights (Transfer Payment) Regulations 1987 preclude the transfer of protected rights into an occupational pension scheme where the member is not employed by the contributing employer. Following representations from officials of the Securities and Investments Board and the occupational pensions sector, we have decided to remove this restriction and have today340W laid before Parliament appropriate amendment regulations. Reinstatement will remain at the discretion of the schemes' trustees in the light of their schemes' rules. However, the new regulations will enable schemes who wish to do so, to accept the transfer of protected rights even where the individual is no longer employed by the contributing employer.