ANNEX 1
THE INHERITED SERPS SCHEME
In March 2000 the Secretary of State for Social Security
announced the Government's decision to set up a preserved rights
scheme (to be known as the Inherited SERPS Scheme) for individuals
who had taken inappropriate action as a result of being misled
by the Department. He also announced that the implementation of
the change in inherited SERPS would be deferred for two and a
half years - until October 2002. This was to allow time for applications
under the scheme to be considered and processed before the change
in the inheritance arrangements. The scheme would have required
regulations to be introduced under section 52 of the Welfare Reform
and Pensions Act 1999, and would have been debated in both Houses
of Parliament. The Department stated that details of the scheme
and its operation would be subject to consultation with interested
parties, both internal and external. They intended that a private
sector contractor should operate the scheme, in the absence of
spare resources within the Benefits Agency. This would have been
the Department's first experience of using a private sector partner
to administer and decide on entitlement.
The Department announced that the scheme was to have
had the following key features:
- it would be brought to the attention of those
affected through a national publicity campaign;
- a helpline would be opened immediately to provide
information about the scheme;
- eligibility criteria would include people who:
were married;
had paid National Insurance contributions since 1978;
were misinformed after 1986;
could demonstrate they acted on incorrect or incomplete
information received from a government department to their detriment.
- Individuals would apply to have their rights
to full inheritance of SERPS preserved, rather than receive any
payment.
- Those seeking preservation of their rights would
complete an application form, which would ask for information
about how they received advice or information about inherited
SERPS, when and from whom. The form would also ask for details
of what action they took.
- Decisions would be made on the basis of information
given on the application form. The lack of supporting documentary
evidence would not mean that the application would fail.
- Applicants would be able to seek a review of
the original decision, and appeal to an independent tribunal in
the same way as benefit claimants.[34]
34 C&AG's Report (HC 320 (1999-2000)) paras 2.19-2.20 Back
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