Parliamentary and other Pensions Act 1987

2Power to provide for pensions.

(1)The Leader of the House of Commons may, with the consent of the Treasury, by regulations make provision with respect to the Fund and with respect to the application of the assets of the Fund in or towards the provision of pensions for or in respect of persons with service to which this section applies.

(2)Subject to subsection (3) below, the service to which this section applies is service as any of the following, that is to say—

(a)a Member of the House of Commons;

(b)the holder of any of the offices specified in Parts I to IV of Schedule 1 to the [1975 c. 27.] Ministerial and other Salaries Act 1975 (ministerial offices);

(c)the holder of any office specified in Part I of Schedule 2 to that Act (Opposition leaders and whips); or

(d)the holder of the office of Chairman of Ways and Means, Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means, Chairman of Committees of the House of Lords or Deputy Chairman of Committees of the House of Lords.

(3)Regulations under this section shall not provide for the application of any of the assets of the Fund in or towards the provision of pensions for or in respect of persons with service as Lord Chancellor, Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury or Speaker of the House of Commons.

(4)Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) above, regulations under this section may—

(a)include all or any of the provisions specified in Schedule 1 to this Act;

(b)subject to subsection (5) below, make provision which has effect—

(i)from a date earlier than the date of the making of the regulations containing the provision; or

(ii)in relation to service before the passing of this Act (including, in the case of service falling within subsection (2)(b) or (c) above, service before the passing of the Ministerial and other Salaries Act 1975);

(c)make different provision in relation to different cases, circumstances or persons; and

(d)make such incidental, consequential and transitional provision as the Leader of the House of Commons considers appropriate.

(5)No regulation made under this section shall be construed as restricting the powers of the trustees of the Fund under section 1(3) above.

(6)The Leader of the House of Commons shall not under this section make any regulations in relation to an accrued right which put any person in a worse position than he would have been in apart from the regulations unless the Leader of the House of Commons is satisfied—

(a)that the person in respect of whose service the right has accrued or, as the case may be, will have accrued by the time when the regulations come into force is, at the time of the making of the regulations, in service to which this section applies; or

(b)that an opportunity is given under the regulations for that person or (where that person has died) for the persons who are or may become entitled by virtue of that right to or to the benefit of any pension, or for a person acting on behalf of that person or those persons, to opt for the accrued right to remain unaffected by the regulations.

(7)The power to make regulations under this section shall be exercisable by statutory instrument subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament; but no such regulations shall be made unless the trustees of the Fund and persons appearing to the Leader of the House of Commons to represent persons likely to be affected by the regulations have first been consulted about them.

(8)Where the Leader of the House of Commons has made any proposals for the making of regulations under this section, a copy of any representations made to him by the trustees of the Fund about the proposals shall be laid before the House of Commons.

(9)Schedule 2 to this Act shall have effect for the purpose of treating the enactments and subordinate legislation which relate to the Fund and the payment of pensions out of the Fund and which are in force immediately before the coming into force of this section as if they were contained in regulations made under this section.

(10)In this section “accrued right”, in relation to any regulations made under this section, means so much of any right or entitlement to or in respect of a pension payable out of the Fund (including any future or contingent right or entitlement) as—

(a)has accrued under the Parliamentary pension scheme in respect of so much of any person’s service as was before the making of the regulations; or

(b)by the time when the regulations come into force, will have accrued under that scheme in respect of any service of a person whose service to which this section applies includes a period of service before the making of the regulations.