Judges' Contributory Pensions Act 1968

Judges' Contributory Pensions Act 1968

This Act may be cited as the Judges' Contributory Pensions Act 1968.

The Governor may by order declare a day to be the appointed day for the purposes of this Act, and the day so declared is in this Act referred to as the appointed day.

In this Act –

Actuary has the same meaning as in the Public Sector Superannuation Reform Act 2016;

appropriate judicial salary means – in the case of a pension payable in respect of contributions paid by a person who, immediately before he or she became entitled to a pension under this Act or at his or her death, was the Chief Justice, the salary for the time being required by law to be paid to the Chief Justice; and in the case of a pension payable in respect of contributions paid by a person who, immediately before he or she became entitled to a pension under this Act or at his or her death, was the Associate Judge, the salary for the time being required by law to be paid to the Associate Judge; and in any other case, the salary for the time being required by law to be paid to a puisne judge;

complying superannuation scheme has the same meaning as in the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 of the Commonwealth, as amended;

residual pension means a pension payable under this Act after any commutation in accordance with section 11 or 12;

Secretary means the Secretary of the Department;

spouse includes the person with whom a person is, or was at the time of his or her death, in a significant relationship, within the meaning of the Relationships Act 2003;

surcharge liability means liability for tax or interest imposed under the law of the Commonwealth arising from an entitlement to a pension under this Act;

This Act applies only to the following judges:a judge who is appointed after the appointed day and before 1 July 1999; any other judge who, by notice in writing served on the Minister before the appointed day, has elected that this Act is to apply to him.

This Act also applies to – the person who, on the day on which the Judges' Contributory Pensions Amendment Act 1995 commences, holds the office of Associate Judge by appointment under section 4(1) of the Supreme Court Act 1959; and a person who is appointed to the office of Associate Judge under section 4(1) of the Supreme Court Act 1959 after the day on which the Judges' Contributory Pensions Amendment Act 1995 commences and before 1 July 1999.

For the purposes of this Act, a person to whom this Act applies shall pay contributions of amounts equal to 5 per cent of his salary.

Contributions required to be paid under this section shall be paid to the Minister in such manner and at such times as he may approve.

A person to whom this Act applies becomes entitled to a pension under this Act in respect of the contributions required to be made by him thereunder – on retirement pursuant to section 6A of the Supreme Court Act 1887 in the case of a judge or on retirement pursuant to section 5(2) of the Supreme Court Act 1959 in the case of the Associate Judge; on retirement after having served as a judge or Associate Judge for not less than 15 years; or on retirement that the Minister certifies to be by reason of disability or infirmity.

The pension to which a person becomes entitled under this section is a pension at the rate of one-half of the appropriate judicial salary.

A pension payable under this Act is to be reduced to take into account any commutation of the pension.

If a person to whom this Act applies dies in office, that person's spouse becomes entitled to a pension in respect of the contributions required to be made by that person under this Act.

If a person who has become entitled to a pension under section 5 dies, that person's spouse becomes entitled to a pension in respect of the contributions required to be made by that person under this Act.

Subsection (2) does not apply to a person's spouse if – he or she married or entered into a significant relationship, within the meaning of the Relationships Act 2003, with the deceased person after the date on which the deceased person became entitled to a pension under section 5; or

Subject to sections 11 and 12, the pension to which a spouse becomes entitled under this section is a pension at the rate of one-third of the appropriate judicial salary.

Where under any provision of this Act a person becomes entitled to a pension at the rate of a specified proportion of the appropriate judicial salary the Minister shall pay to that person a pension at a rate that is equivalent to that proportion of what is for the time being the rate of that salary.

A pension referred to in subsection (1) accrues from day to day and is payable monthly or in such other manner as the Minister, with the consent of the person to whom it is payable, may determine.

Where a person to whom this Act applies retires or resigns from office and is not entitled, on so retiring or resigning, to a pension under this Act, the Minister must pay to that person a termination benefit equivalent to – that person’s contributions under this Act; and interest on those contributions made after 1 April 1987 at a rate determined by the Minister; and an amount representing the prescribed rate of contributions in respect of that person, together with interest on that amount, for each pay period commencing – on or after 1 July 1992; or on the day when he becomes a person to whom this Act applies – whichever is the later.

For the purposes of subsection (1), the prescribed amount of contributions is the product of the relevant prescribed rate of contributions set out in the following table and the salary of the person for the relevant period set out in that table:

For the purposes of subsection (1)(c), interest is to be added to the prescribed amount of contributions at a rate determined by the Minister.

Where a person to whom this Act applies dies while holding office and no other person becomes entitled on that person’s death to a pension under section 6(1), the Minister must pay to that person’s personal representative a termination benefit calculated under this section.

The account, called the Judges' Pension Fund, established under this section before the commencement of section 9 of the Financial Management Act 2016, is continued as an account, of the same name, in the Public Account.

Contributions made by persons under this Act shall be credited to the Judges' Pension Fund, and during each financial year there shall be paid into the account in the Public Account the amount standing to the credit of that pension fund at the commencement of that financial year.

Pensions and other sums required to be paid by the Minister under this Act shall be paid out of the account in the Public Account, which, to the necessary extent, is appropriated accordingly.

If a person who holds or has held office as Associate Judge pursuant to an appointment under section 4(1) of the Supreme Court Act 1959 becomes a judge–

the period during which that person held office as Associate Judge is, for the purposes of section 5, to be added to, and is to be taken to be part of, that person's period of service as a judge; and any pension being paid to that person under this Act in relation to his or her service as Associate Judge ceases forthwith to be payable.