National Provident Fund Amendment Act 1976
National Provident Fund Amendment Act 1976
National Provident Fund Amendment Act 1976
National Provident Fund Amendment Act 1976
Public Act |
1976 No 28 |
|
Date of assent |
1 November 1976 |
|
Contents
An Act to amend the National Provident Fund Act 1950
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of New Zealand in Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
1 Short Title and commencement
(1)
This Act may be cited as the National Provident Fund Amendment Act 1976, and shall be read together with and deemed part of the National Provident Fund Act 1950 (hereinafter referred to as the principal Act).
(2)
Sections 13 and 14 of this Act and the Schedule thereto shall be deemed to have come into force on the 1st day of April 1975, and the remaining provisions of this Act shall come into force on the date on which this Act receives the Governor-General’s assent.
2 Interpretation
Section 2 of the principal Act is hereby amended by repealing the definition of the term “child”
, and substituting the following definition;
“‘Child’, in relation to any person, includes:
“(a)
A child of the person who is born after the person’s death; and
“(b)
A child in respect of whom an interim order under section 5 of the Adoption Act 1955 in favour of that person is in force or was in force immediately before the death of that person; and
“(c)
A child in respect of whom an adoption order is made within one year after the death of the person in favour of the spouse of the person, if (but only if) the person is the relevant contributor; and
“(d)
A stepchild of the person, if (but only if) the Board consents.”
3 Local authorities and approved bodies may invest in Fund
(1)
Section 3c of the principal Act, as substituted by section 2 of the National Provident Fund Amendment Act 1959, is hereby amended by repealing subsection (2), and substituting the following subsections:
“(2)
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any other Act or any rule of the common law or of equity, the powers conferred by subsection (1) of this section on local authorities may be exercised by the Crown, or by any body or person or any class of bodies or persons approved in that behalf by the Minister, and the provisions of that subsection shall apply to the Crown, or any such body or person or class of bodies or persons accordingly.
“(2a)
In any case where any local authority or the Crown or any body or person pays money to the National Provident Fund in accordance with this section (any such payer being hereafter in this section referred to as a depositor), the Board or any Registrar of Certificates of Investment appointed by the Board under subsection (2b) of this section may issue to the payer a certificate of investment in such form and containing such particulars as the Board may from time to time determine.
“(2b)
The Board may from time to time appoint the Reserve Bank of New Zealand or any other body or person to be the Registrar of Certificates of Investment under this section.
“(2c)
Any depositor may, by an instrument in a form approved by the Board, transfer any amount repayable or payable to the depositor under this section to any local authority or the Crown or to any body or person approved as aforesaid by the Minister:
“Provided that the Minister may from time to time exclude any class of money repayable at a specified time or within a specified period, or any class of depositor, from the provisions of this subsection:
“Provided also that the Board may from time to time determine the minimum amount that may be so transferred.
“(2d)
Upon the deposit of the instrument of transfer with the Board or any Registrar of Certificates of Investment appointed by the Board pursuant to the provisions of subsection (2b) of this section, the rights of the transferor in respect of the amount transferred shall cease, and the provisions of this section shall apply in relation to the amount transferred as if it had been paid to the Fund by the transferee.
“(2e)
In respect of any certificate of investment issued under subsection (2a) of this section the provisions of sections 68, 69, 71, 72(2), 72(3), 73, 74(2), 74(3), 74(4), 75, 77, 78, 79, and 82 of the Local Authorities Loans Act 1956 shall apply so far as they are applicable and with the necessary modifications as if the Fund were a local authority within the meaning of those provisions and as if certificates of investment were certificates of title to stock issued pursuant to that Act.”
(2)
The said section 3c of the principal Act is hereby further amended by adding the following subsection:
“(4)
The repayment of all money paid to the National Provident Fund under this section, whether before or after the commencement of this subsection, and the payment of all interest payable thereon by the Board, are hereby guaranteed by the Minister. In the event of the Minister being required to pay any money under the provisions of this subsection, the provisions of subsections (2) and (4) of section 110 of the Public Revenues Act 1953 (as substituted by section 3 of the Public Revenues Amendment Act 1975) shall apply.”
(3)
Section 4(1) of the Trustee Act 1956, as amended by section 2 of the Trustee Amendment Act 1974, is hereby amended by inserting, after paragraph (ii), the following paragraph:
“(ij)
On deposit in the National Provident Fund under section 3c of the National Provident Fund Act 1950, as substituted by section 2 of the National Provident Fund Amendment Act 1959:”.
4 Investment of Fund
Section 6 of the principal Act is hereby amended by repealing subsections (2) and (3), and substituting the following subsections:
“(2)
The Board may at any time arrange with the Public Trustee or any other person or body to make as agent any investment authorised by this section in the name of the agent and on behalf of the Board, and the Board may pay to the agent for any such services such fees, charges, or commission as may be agreed between the Board and the agent.
“(3)
All moneys, securities, and property held by the Public Trustee or any other person or body for the purposes of the Fund or in pursuance of the provisions of this section shall be held by the Public Trustee or the other person or body on behalf of the Board.”
5 Further powers of Board
The principal Act is hereby amended by inserting, after section 6a (as inserted by section 4 of the National Provident Fund Amendment Act 1959), the following section:
“6b
Without restricting any other powers conferred upon it by this Act or otherwise, the Board may from time to time—
“(a)
Hold, improve, manage, develop, alter, extend, equip, furnish, repair, and maintain any property vested in it:
“(b)
Enter into any covenants or agreements in respect of any property vested in it:
“(c)
Sell, exchange, convey, transfer, lease, rent, hire, or otherwise dispose of any property vested in it as it thinks fit.”
6 Committees of the Board
(1)
The principal Act is hereby amended by repealing section 10a, as inserted by section 7 of the National Provident Fund Amendment Act 1955, and substituting the following section:
“10a
“(1)
The Board may from time to time, with the consent of the Minister, establish such committees as it thinks fit.
“(2)
Any such committee that is established in respect of the investment of money in the Fund in loans to local authorities shall consist of—
“(a)
The Secretary to the Treasury;
“(b)
The Superintendent of the Fund; and
“(c)
Two persons (whether or not they are members of the Board) appointed by the Minister.
“(3)
The Superintendent of the Fund shall be a member of every committee established by the Board.
“(4)
There may be paid, out of money appropriated by Parliament for the purpose, to the members of any committee established under this section, remuneration by way of fees, salary, or allowances, and travelling allowances and expenses, in accordance with the Fees and Travelling Allowances Act 1951, and the provisions of that Act shall apply accordingly as if the members of the committee were members of a statutory Board within the meaning of that Act.”
(2)
Section 7 of the National Provident Fund Amendment Act 1955 is hereby repealed.
7 Delegation of Board’s powers and functions
The principal Act is hereby amended by inserting, after section 10a, as substituted by section 6 of this Act, the following section:
“10b
“(1)
The Board may from time to time, by writing either generally or particularly, delegate to any committee established under section 10a of this Act or to the Superintendent of the Fund, all or any of its powers and functions under this Act, but not including the power to delegate under this section:
“Provided that nothing in this subsection shall restrict the powers of delegation conferred on the Superintendent by section 11a of this Act (as inserted by section 4 of the National Provident Fund Amendment Act 1954 and amended by section 9 of the National Provident Fund Amendment Act 1976).
“(2)
Subject to any general or special directions given or conditions attached by the Board, the committee or the Superintendent, as the case may be, may exercise any powers or functions delegated to it or him in the same manner and with the same effect as if they had been conferred directly by this section and not by delegation.
“(3)
Unless and until any such delegation is revoked, it shall continue in force according to its tenor notwithstanding that all or any of the members of the Board at the time when the delegation was made have ceased to hold office, and shall continue to have effect as if made by their successors in office. In the event of any member of the committee or the Superintendent to whom any such delegation has been made ceasing to hold office, any such delegation shall continue to have effect as if made to the persons for the time being holding office as members of the committee or as Superintendent, as the case may be.
“(4)
Where any committee or the Superintendent purports to act pursuant to any delegation under this section, that committee or the Superintendent, as the case may be, shall be presumed to be acting in accordance with the terms of the delegation in the absence of proof to the contrary.
“(5)
Every such delegation shall be revocable at will, and no such delegation shall prevent the exercise of any power or function by the Board.”
8 Superintendent of the Fund
The principal Act is here by amended by repealing section 11, and substituting the following section:
“11
There shall from time to time be appointed under the State Services Act 1962 a Superintendent of the Fund who shall be the chief executive officer of the Board.”
9 Delegation of powers by Superintendent
Section 11a of the principal Act, as inserted by section 4 of the National Provident Fund Amendment Act 1954, is hereby amended by repealing subsection (1), and substituting the following sub section:
“(1)
The Superintendent may from time to time by writing, either generally or particularly, delegate to any person employed under the State Services Act 1962 and subject to his control, all or any of the powers and functions conferred or imposed on him by or under this Act (including powers and functions delegated to him by the Board), but not including the power to delegate under this section.”
10 Interest on money held in error
Section 16a of the principal Act, as inserted by section 5 of the National Provident Fund Amendment Act 1959, is hereby amended by adding as subsection (2) the following subsection:
“(2)
Where for any reason whatsoever any money is or has been held in error in the Fund on behalf of any person, whether before or after the commencement of this subsection, the Board may in its discretion pay to that person, in addition to the said money, interest thereon from the date on which payment should have been made to that person to the date of actual payment at such rate as the Minister may from time to time determine.”
11 Corporations to subsidise employer subsidised schemes
The principal Act is hereby amended by inserting, after section 39, the following section:
“39a
Notwithstanding anything in this or any other Act, the power conferred by any Act on any local authority, public body, or other body (whether corporate or unincorporate) to contribute to or subsidise out of its funds any scheme established by or under this Act for the purpose of providing superannuation or retiring allowances for its officers or employees shall be construed as being restricted to power to contribute to or subsidise out of its funds any scheme established by or under this Act containing provision for employer subsidy.”
12 Variation of terms or conditions of superannuation scheme
Section 49 of the principal Act is hereby amended by adding to subsection (4) the following proviso:
“Provided that no contributing employee who is affected by any such variation shall have any right of election under this section in respect of the variation if it is made by the Board, whether before or after the passing of the National Provident Fund Amendment Act 1976, to make the scheme eligible for—
“(a)
Provisional or formal approval by the Government Actuary under the New Zealand Superannuation Act 1974; or
“(b)
Approval by the Government Actuary under Part II of the Superannuation Schemes Act 1976.”
13 Employers’ contributions in respect of prescribed period to be added to transfer values and refunds
The principal Act is hereby amended by inserting, after section 55, the following section:
“55a
“(1)
Every transfer value that is provided in accordance with section 54 or section 55 of this Act (as amended by section 14 of the National Provident Fund Amendment Act 1976), and every refund of moneys that is made in accordance with section 54 or section 55 of this Act, to or in respect of a contributing employee, shall, if he contributed to the Fund in respect of his salary or wages in relation to his employment during the whole or any part of his prescribed period, include an amount in respect of employers’ contributions equal to the minimum amount that would have been required in respect of employer’s contributions if a transfer value had been determined in accordance with regulation 26 of the New Zealand Superannuation Regulations 1974 for that prescribed period.
“(2)
Where an amount in respect of employer’s contributions has been included in any transfer value provided, or in any refund of contributions made, to or in respect of a contributor, subsection (1) of this section shall not in any circumstances thereafter apply to or in respect of that contributor.
“(3)
In this section,—
“‘Prescribed date’, in relation to any contributor, means such date not earlier than the 15th day of December 1975 and not later than the 31st day of January 1976 as the Board may determine:
“‘Prescribed period’, in relation to any contributions, means the period commencing on the 1st day of April 1975 and ending with the prescribed date.”
14 Temporary amendments to principal Act
The principal Act shall, in relation to the period commencing on the 1st day of April 1975 and ending with the time of the repeal of the New Zealand Superannuation Act 1974, be read as if the sections specified in the first column of the Schedule to this Act had been amended in the manner specified in the second column of that Schedule.
Schedule Temporary Amendments to Sections of Principal Act
Section 14
| Section Amended | Nature of Amendment |
|---|---|
| Section 54(2) | By repealing paragraph (a), and substituting the following paragraphs: “(a)He shall be entitled to receive from the Fund a refund of all money deducted by the local authority before the 1st day of April 1975 under section 48 of this Act, less any benefits he may have received from the Fund while in the service of the local authority: “(aa)A transfer value shall be provided in respect of his contributions to the Fund in respect of his contributory service during the period commencing on the 1st day of April 1975 and ending with the prescribed date for that person (determined in accordance with section 55a of this Act, as inserted by section 13 of the National Provident Fund Amendment Act 1976) or with the last day of his contributory service, whichever is the earlier, which transfer value shall be the minimum transfer value determined in accordance with regulation 26 of the New Zealand Superannuation Regulations 1974: “(ab)The transfer value so provided shall, at his option, be transferred to the New Zealand Superannuation Scheme or to an approved alternative scheme within the meaning of the New Zealand Superannuation Act 1974.” |
| Section 55 | By repealing subsection (1), and substituting the following subsection: “(1) If any contributing employee ceases to be in the service of a local authority before he becomes entitled to a pension under this Act,— “(a)He shall thereupon be entitled to receive from the Fund a refund of all money deducted by the local authority before the 1st day of April 1975 from his salary or wages under section 48 of this Act, less any benefits he may have received from the Fund while in the service of the local authority: “(b)A transfer value shall be provided in respect of his contributions to the Fund in respect of his contributory service during the period commencing on the 1st day of April 1975 and ending with the prescribed date for that person (determined in accordance with section 55a of this Act, as inserted by section 13 of the National Provident Fund Amendment Act 1976) or with the last day of his contributory service, whichever is the earlier, which transfer value shall be the minimum transfer value determined in accordance with regulation 26 of the New Zealand Superannuation Regulations 1974: “(c)The transfer value so provided shall, at his option, be transferred to the New Zealand Superannuation Scheme or to an approved alternative scheme within the meaning of the New Zealand Superannuation Act 1974: “Provided that the Board may in its discretion, on the application of any such person and upon and subject to such terms and conditions as it thinks fit, accept him as a contributor to the Fund as from a date to be fixed in that behalf by the Board.” |
This Act is administered in the Treasury.