Western Australian Numbered Acts Western Australian Numbered Acts After section 15
the following sections are inserted —
“
16. Commutation of pension to meet
surcharge debt
(1) A retired Judge
who —
(a) is
in receipt of a pension under this Act; and
(b) is
liable to pay a surcharge as a result of becoming entitled to that pension,
may commute part of
the pension for the purpose of paying all or part of the surcharge.
(2) If a surcharge
becomes payable from the estate of a deceased Judge or retired Judge, a person
who is in receipt of a pension under section 7 as a result of the
Judge’s or retired Judge’s death may commute part of the pension
for the purpose of paying all or part of the surcharge on behalf of the
executor or administrator of the estate.
(3) A person wanting
to commute a pension under subsection (1) or (2) is to give to the
Minister a notice to that effect, setting out the amount of the lump sum
benefit that the person wants to be paid (the "requested amount” ),
which cannot be more than the surcharge.
(4) On receipt of a
notice under subsection (3) the Minister is to give to the person a
notice setting out the amount by which the person’s pension would be
reduced under subsection (6)(b) if the commutation was effected on the
day on which the Minister gives the notice.
(5) If, after
receiving the Minister’s notice, the person wants to proceed with the
commutation, the person is to give to the Minister a notice to that effect.
(6) On receipt by the
Minister of a notice under subsection (5) —
(a) the
person becomes entitled to a lump sum benefit of an amount equal to the
requested amount; and
(b) the
person’s pension (as at the date of that receipt) is reduced to an
amount determined by the Minister, on the advice of an actuary, to be
actuarially equivalent to the value of the pension before the application of
this section, reduced by the requested amount.
(7) A notice given to
the Minister for the purposes of this section is to be —
(a) made
in the form and manner, and given within the period, determined by the
Minister; and
(b)
accompanied by such information as is determined by the Minister.
(8) In this
section —
"surcharge" means an amount payable to the
Commissioner of Taxation under the
Superannuation Contributions Tax (Members of Constitutionally Protected
Superannuation Funds) Imposition Act 1997 of the Commonwealth or any
other Act of the Commonwealth prescribed for the purposes of this definition.
17. Benefit if no pension payable
(1) If a Judge ceases
to hold office as a Judge (other than as a result of the death of the Judge)
but does not become entitled to a pension under this Act, the Judge is
entitled to —
(a) if
the Judge is under 55 years of age, a preserved benefit; or
(b)
otherwise, payment of a lump sum benefit,
of an amount
determined under subsection (3).
(2) If a Judge who
does not have a spouse or de facto partner dies while still in office a lump
sum benefit of an amount determined under subsection (3) is to be paid to
the executor or administrator of the Judge’s estate.
(3) The amount of the
lump sum benefit is the amount determined by the Minister on the advice of an
actuary to be —
(a) the
minimum benefit required for the State not to incur an individual
superannuation guarantee shortfall in respect of the Judge; less
(b) the
employer sponsored component of any benefit —
(i)
to which the Judge is entitled as a result of ceasing to
hold office as a Judge; or
(ii)
payable as a result of the death of the Judge,
(as the case requires)
from any other superannuation scheme to which the State contributed in respect
of the Judge while he or she was a Judge.
(4) A preserved
benefit to which a Judge is entitled under subsection (1)(b) is to be
dealt with in accordance with the
Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 of the Commonwealth as
if —
(a) the
benefit were a preserved benefit in a regulated superannuation fund (within
the meaning of that Act); and
(b) the
preservation age for the Judge was 55 years (or such greater age as is
prescribed).
(5) If a Judge who is
entitled to a benefit under subsection (1) dies before it is paid, the
benefit is to be paid to the executor or administrator of the Judge’s
estate.
(6) Benefits payable
under this section are to be charged to the Consolidated Fund which is, to the
necessary extent, appropriated accordingly.
(7) The Governor may
make regulations prescribing an age greater than 55 years for the
purposes of subsection (4)(b).
(8) In
subsection (3) —
"individual superannuation guarantee shortfall
” has the meaning given by
section 17 of the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration)
Act 1992 of the Commonwealth.
18. Conversion of lump sum to meet surcharge debt
(1) A Judge who
becomes entitled to a lump sum benefit under section 17 and is liable to
pay a surcharge as a result of becoming entitled to that benefit
may —
(a)
convert all or part of the benefit into a commutable pension; and
(b)
fully commute that pension.
(2) A Judge wanting to
convert a benefit under subsection (1) is to give to the Minister a
notice to that effect, setting out the amount that the Judge wants to be paid
in the form of the commuted pension (the
"requested amount"), which cannot be more than the surcharge.
(3) On receipt by the
Minister of a notice under subsection (2) —
(a) the
benefit to which the Judge is entitled under section 17 is reduced by the
amount of the requested amount;
(b) the
Judge becomes entitled to a pension of an amount calculated to be actuarially
equivalent to a lump sum benefit of the requested amount; and
(c) that
pension is commuted into, and the Judge becomes entitled to, a lump sum of the
amount of the requested amount.
(4) In this section
—
"surcharge" has the same meaning as in section
16.
The costs of
administering sections 6 to 17 are to be charged to the Consolidated Fund
which is, to the necessary extent, appropriated accordingly.
”.