TRANSFER OF PENSIONS PAID UNDER THE SOCIAL SECURITY ACT REGULATIONS

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 318.22

TRANSFER OF PENSIONS PAID UNDER THE

SOCIAL SECURITY ACT REGULATIONS

20th January, 2012

LEGAL NOTICE 17 of 2012, as amended by Legal Notice 61 of 2013.

(1) The title of these regulations is the Transfer of

Pensions paid under the Social Security Act Regulations.

(2) These regulations provide for the administrative procedure

necessary to give effect to Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom,

ECSC) No. 259/68, laying down staff regulations of officials and

the conditions of employment of other servants of the European

Union.

(3) The purpose of these regulations is to enable persons

employed as officials and servants of Union institutions and bodies

to apply to have their benefit rights, accrued and valued in terms of

Part V of the Act, transferred from their national insurance account

or fund to the EU scheme.

(1) For the purposes of these regulations, unless the

context requires otherwise

"the Act" means the Social Security Act;

"active employment" means a person who is performing the

duties pertaining to the post to which he has been appointed or

temporarily assigned within the meaning of Article 36 of the

Council Regulation;

"the Director" shall have the same meaning assigned to it by

article 2 of the Act;

"the Council Regulation" means Council Regulation (EEC,

Euratom, ECSC) No. 259/68 laying down staff regulations of

officials and the conditions of employment of other servants of the

European Union;

"the E U scheme" means the pension scheme pr ovid ed for

officials of EU institutions in accordance with Articles 77 to 84 of,

and Annex VIII to, the Council Regulation;

"the transferred amount" means the amount in respect of the cash

equivalent of the transferor’s transferable rights which has been

transferred into the EU scheme;

"quotation date" means the date

(i)

by reference to which the cash equivalent value of

transferable rights is calculated; and

(ii)

which falls within a period of three months beginning

with the date on which the transfer application is

received by the Director;

"leave on personal grounds" means leave granted within the

meaning of Article 40 of the Council Regulation;

"relevant pension" means any contributory pension under Part V

of the Act;

"statement of entitlement" means a written statement

(i)

of the amount of the cash equivalent at the quotation

date of the transferable rights which have accrued to,

or in respect of, the transferor; and

(ii)

which contains details of the basis of how that amount

has been calculated;

"t r an sf e r ap p l ica ti o n " h as th e m e an i n g a s si g n ed t o i t b y

regulation 4(1);

"transferor" means the person who has applied to the Director to

transfer his transferable rights into the EU scheme.

(2) Subject to the provisions of sub-regulation (1), other terms

used in these regulations shall, unless the context otherwise

requires, have the meaning assigned to them by the Act.

(3) Any references in these regulations to an Article of, or an

Annex to, the Council Regulation are to be construed as references

to that Article or Annex as amended from time to time.

For the purposes of these regulations, ‘transferable rights’

shall mean any rights to a relevant pension, which, at the quotation

date, have accrued to, or in respect of, a person by virtue of the

following

(a) the payment by that person of Class 1 or 2

contributions under the Act; and

(b) that person having been credited with

such

contributions in terms of article 16 of the Act.

(1) Except where sub-regulation (2) applies, a person

seeking to transfer his transferable rights to the EU scheme shall

make an application to the Director.

(2) The transferor shall be deemed to have made an application

under sub-regulation (1) where the Director receives a copy of the

transferor’s application to become a member of the EU scheme.

(3) An application under sub-regulation (1) shall be in such

form as the Director may from time to time approve.

(1) The Director shall, subject to sub-regulation (4),

provide the transferor with a statement of entitlement before the

end of the period of thirty days beginning with the quotation date.

(2) A statement of entitlement shall remain valid for a period

of ninety days beginning with the day on which the transferor is

provided with the finalised proposal of transfer from the

administrator of the EU scheme.

(3) Where the transferor is not satisfied as to the accuracy of

any of the information contained in the statement of entitlement, he

shall notify the Director accordingly within thirty days of receiving

it.

(4) The Director need not provide a statement of entitlement to

a transferor if he has provided a statement of entitlement to that

transferor in the previous twelve months.

(1) The cash equivalent of the transferor’s transferable

rights is to be calculated and verified in such manner as may be

approved by, or on behalf of, the Director following actuarial

analysis.

(2) Where, at the quotation date, the transferor is in receipt of

one or more relevant pensions, the cash equivalent of any amounts

paid in respect of that benefit or those benefits shall be deducted

from the total cash equivalent of his transferable rights.

A transfer of a transferor’s transferable rights to the EU

scheme may only take place where the Director has been notified in

writing, before the expiry of the period referred to in regulation

5(2), that the transferor wishes the transfer to take place.

(1) Sub-regulations (2) and (3) apply where the Director

receives a notice under regulation 7.

(2) Where the Director is satisfied that the cash equivalent of

the transferor’s transferable rights is correct, he shall transfer into

the EU scheme

(a) an amount in respect of that cash equivalent; and

(b) interest accruing on that amount by virtue of

regulation 11, before the end of the period of nine

months beginning with the quotation date.

(3) Where the Director is not satisfied as to the accuracy of the

cash equivalent of the transferor ’s transferable rights, he shall

notify the transferor accordingly and issue a revised statement of

entitlement.

(4) Where the Director receives a notice from a transferor

indicating that he wishes to complete a transfer of his transferable

rights to the EU scheme, which notice is received after the expiry

of the period referred to in regulation 5(2), he shall notify the

transferor that his application is invalid and that a new application

is to be made and a new statement of entitlement obtained in

accordance with the provisions of these regulations.

(1) This regulation applies where the cash equivalent of

the transferor’s transferable rights has been transferred into the EU

scheme according to official guidelines published from time to

time

(2) Nothing in the Act or in any regulations made thereunder

shall be construed in such a way so as to produce the following

effect

(a) the entitlement of the transferor to payment of a

relevant pension based on contributions paid or

credited during any periods before the day on which

the transfer takes place; or

(b) the crediting of a transferor with any earnings or

contributions which accrue from his transferable

rights.

(3) Where the transferor returns to Malta at any time after the

day on which the transfer takes place and is gainfully occupied or

self-employed in terms of the Act, he shall not be entitled to

credited contributions in terms of article 16(1) of the Act and any

other credited contributions awarded under the said article which

have been transferred out of this scheme.

(1) Sub-regulation (2) applies where it subsequently

transpires that the cash equivalent of the transferor’s transferable

rights was greater than the transferred amount.

(2) The Director shall transfer into the EU scheme an amount

equal to the sum of the following

(a) the difference between the cash equivalent of the

transferor’s transferable rights and the transferred

amount; and

(b) the difference between the interest accrued under

regulation 11 on the cash equivalent of the transferor’s

transferable rights and the interest accrued under that

regulation on the transferred amount.

(1) Interest shall accrue on the cash equivalent of the

transferor’s transferable rights in respect of the period beginning

on the quotation date and ending on the day on which an amount in

respect of that cash equivalent is transferred by virtue of regulation

8(2).

(2) Interest shall accrue under sub-regulation (1) at an annual

rate to be determined by the Director based on actuarial analysis.

The periods specified in regulations 5, 6 and 8 may be

extended by the Director if he considers it reasonable to do so in

any particular case.

Payments of cash equivalents of transferable rights made

by the Director by virtue of these regulations shall be paid out of

the Consolidated Fund.