Commentary on Sections Short service benefit Section 263: Increase in age at which short service benefit must be payable
1011.This section amends Chapter 1 of Part 4 of the Pension Schemes Act 1993, which provides for the basic preservation of benefits for people who leave pensionable service before normal pension age and who have at least two years’ qualifying service, or have had a transfer payment into the scheme in respect of rights under a personal pension scheme. Section 71(3) of the Pension Schemes Act 1993 previously provided that deferred short service benefits payable under scheme rules must be payable from normal pension age, or if that is earlier than 60, no later than age 60.
1012.Subsection (1) amends section 71(3) of the Pension Schemes Act so that short service benefit must be payable from no later than age 65 except where normal pension age is over 65, in which case short service benefit must be paid from normal pension age.
1013.Subsection (2) adds to section 72 of the Pensions Act 1993 a new subsection (4) which provides that payment of short service benefit from an age other than normal pension age under section 71(3) does not conflict with the basic principle that short service beneficiaries are not treated less favourably than long service beneficiaries.