• “early retirement pivot age” means, in relation to age related benefit provided under a scheme, an age specified in the scheme rules (or otherwise determined) as the earliest age at which entitlement arises—

  1. a

     without consent (whether of an employer, the trustees or managers of the scheme or otherwise), and

  2. b

     without an actuarial reduction,

  but disregarding any special provision as to early payment on grounds of ill health or otherwise;;

• “additional state retirement pension” means the additional pension in the Category A retirement pension within the meaning of sections 44 and 45 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 19924;

• “basic state retirement pension” means the basic pension in the Category A retirement pension within the meaning of section 44 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 5;

• “block transfer” means a transfer in a single transaction or a series of transactions from a scheme of all the sums and assets held for the purposes of, or representing, or derived from—

  1. i

     all accrued rights under a scheme,

  2. ii

     contracted-out rights, or

  3. iii

     rights which are not contracted-out rights,

  relating to a period of continuous pensionable service (or pensionable service which is treated as continuous) or one or more of a number of separate periods of such pensionable service which relate to a member and at least one other member;

• “contracted-out rights” are such rights, under or derived from an occupational pension scheme or an appropriate personal pension scheme as fall within the following categories—

  1. a

     entitlement to payment of, or accrued rights to, guaranteed minimum pensions;

  2. b

     protected rights; or

  3. c

     section 9(2B) rights,

  but not safeguarded rights (within the meaning of section 68A of the Pension Schemes Act 19936);

• “guaranteed minimum pension” has the meaning given in section 8(2) of the Pension Schemes Act 19937;

• “lower earnings limit” means the amount specified for the tax year in question in regulations made under section 5(1)(a)(i) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 (earnings limits and thresholds for Class 1 contributions)8;

• “protected rights” has the meaning given in section 10 of the Pension Schemes Act 19939;

• “redundancy” means being dismissed by reason of redundancy for the purposes of the Employment Rights Act 199610;

• “relevant transfer” has the meaning given in—

  1. a

     regulation 2(1) of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981 (a relevant transfer)11, or as the case may be,

  2. b

     regulation 2(1) of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (a relevant transfer)12;

• “section 9(2B) rights” are—

  1. a

     rights to the payment of pensions and accrued rights to pensions (other than rights attributable to voluntary contributions) under a scheme contracted-out by virtue of section 9(2B) of the Pension Schemes Act 199313, so far as attributable to an earner’s service in contracted-out employment on or after 6th April 1997; and

  2. b

     where a transfer payment has been made to such a scheme, any rights arising under the scheme as a consequence of that payment which are derived directly or indirectly from—

     1. i

        such rights as are referred to in sub-paragraph (a) under another scheme contracted-out by virtue of section 9(2B) of that Act; or

     2. ii

        protected rights under another occupational pension scheme or under a personal pension scheme attributable to payments or contributions in respect of employment on or after 6th April 1997;

• “upper earnings limit” means the amount specified for the tax year in question in regulations made under section 5(1)(a)(iii) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 (earnings limits and thresholds for Class 1 contributions)14.