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3 1999

SOCIAL WELFARE ACT, 1999

PART VIII

Amendment of Pensions Act, 1990

Amendment of Pensions Act, 1990.

35. —Part VI of the Pensions Act, 1990 , is hereby amended by the insertion after section 59A (inserted by section 23 of the Pensions (Amendment) Act, 1996 ), of the following section:

“Reduction of benefit.

59B.—(1) Subject to subsection (2), notwithstanding anything in the rules of a scheme, where a benefit provided for under the rules is payable in the form of an annual pension and such benefit has commenced, the trustees of the scheme shall not reduce the amount of the benefit payable to such person in any subsequent year below the amount of benefit payable in the preceding year.

(2) The trustees of a scheme may reduce the amount of a benefit to which a person is in receipt under the scheme—

(a)  (i) where the benefit has been determined without taking into account a pension payable to the person and where the rules of the scheme permit the subsequent reduction of the benefit by taking into account such pension at or after the date at which that pension commences to be payable to the person, or

(ii) where such benefit has been determined taking into account a pension payable to the person where such pension is less than the full personal rate of old age (contributory) pension then payable and where the rules of the scheme permit the subsequent reduction of the benefit by taking into account the full personal rate of old age (contributory) pension or retirement pension at or after the date at which that full rate of old age (contributory) pension or retirement pension commences to be payable to the person,

(b) where the rules of the scheme permit—

(i) the conversion into a capital sum of part of the benefit,

(ii) a pension payable to a dependant in return for a surrender of part of the benefit,

(iii) forfeiture of or the exercise of a lien on the benefit not prohibited by section 36 of this Act,

(iv) a reduction of the benefit as a consequence of dependency ceasing,

(v) a reduction or cessation of the benefit prior to normal pensionable age where the member had retired prior to that age on account of ill-health and subsequently recovers, or

(vi) a reduction of the benefit as a consequence of the exercise of an option by the member,

or

(c) where the reduction is required to comply with other provisions of this Act.

(3) In subsection (2)—

‘old age (contributory) pension’ means old age (contributory) pension under Part II of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1993 ;

‘pension’ means—

(a) disablement pension,

(b) death benefit under sections 60, 61 or 62,

(c) old age (contributory) pension,

(d) retirement pension,

(e) invalidity pension,

(f) widow's (contributory) pension, or

(g) widower's (contributory) pension,

under Part II of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1993 ;

‘retirement pension’ means retirement pension under Part II of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1993 .

(4) Where the Minister considers that it would be unreasonable, having regard to their nature and character, and would be contrary to the interests of their members, to require specified schemes or categories of schemes to comply fully with specified provisions of this section, he may by regulations made with the consent of the Minister for Finance provide that those provisions shall apply in relation to those schemes or categories of schemes with specified modifications, being modifications that, in the opinion of the Minister, are reasonable and do not materially alter those provisions.”.