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Neutral Citation Number:
Reported Number:	R(IB)1/04
File Number:	CIB 638 2003
Appellant:
Respondent:
Judge/Commissioner:	Judge C. Turnbull
Date Of Decision:	19/08/2003
Date Added:	08/09/2003
Main Category:	Incapacity benefits
Main Subcategory:	other
Secondary Category:
Secondary Subcategory:
Notes:	Incapacity benefit - reduction of incapacity benefit for pension payments - part of occupational pension paid direct to former wife under court order - whether "payable to" claimant The trustees of the claimant's occupational pension scheme paid 50% of his pension directly to his former wife under a court order made under section 25B of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973. A decision-maker decided that the full amount of the pension was "payable to" the claimant within the meaning of section 30DD of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992, and therefore that the amount of pension payable to the claimant exceeded the threshold above which receipt of pension payments operated to reduce entitlement to incapacity benefit under that section. If the sums earmarked for payment to his former wife had not been treated as payable to the claimant, no reduction would have applied. The claimant appealed and the appeal tribunal dismissed his appeal. Held, allowing the appeal, that: 1. the sums paid to the claimant's former wife were not "payable to" him within the ordinary meaning of those words (paragraph 13); 2. while section 25B(6)(b) of the Matrimonial Causes Act provided that the payments to his former wife should be treated as paid by him, it did not follow that they should be treated as paid or payable to him (paragraph 14); 3. section 30DD was introduced by the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999, which focused specifically on the position of pensions on divorce. There was therefore some argument for saying that, if the legislator had intended that sums diverted to a former spouse under an earmarking order should be treated as payable to a claimant for incapacity benefit purposes, the opportunity would have been taken expressly so to provide (paragraph 15). The Commissioner substituted his own decision that the amount of incapacity benefit was not reduced by reason of the claimant's entitlement to occupational pension.
Decision(s) to Download:	R(IB) 1_04 bv.doc