Section 3
Pensions in respect of service as Members
of Parliamentary Pensions Act 1978
(1)
Subject to the provisions of this Act, a person who, after 1 September 1978, ceases at any time to be a Member may be granted a pension under this section if he or she has not less than 9 years’ reckonable service as a Member (whether continuously or not).
(2)
The annual amount of pension payable to a Member is —
in respect of every completed year of reckonable service — at the rate of one‑thirtieth (1/30) of his or her annual salary; and
in respect of any remaining uncompleted year of reckonable service — at the rate of one‑three‑hundred and sixtieth (1/360) part of his or her annual salary for each completed month of reckonable service.
(3)
The annual pension payable to any Member under subsection (2) must not exceed two-thirds of his or her annual salary.
(4)
Subject to sections 13 and 15, a pension under this section continues for the life of the person to whom it is payable but is not payable in respect of any period during which he or she is again a Member or is a candidate for election to Parliament; at the end of that period the pension is again payable and must be re‑computed under subsection (2) with the addition of any further period of reckonable service to the period of his or her former reckonable service as a Member.
(5)
For the purposes of subsections (2) and (3), “annual salary” means the annual equivalent of the highest monthly rate of salary (excluding any non‑pensionable allowances) received by a Member during any period of his or her reckonable service as a Member.
(6)
For the purposes of subsection (4), a person who ceases to be a Member in consequence of the dissolution of Parliament is to be treated as a candidate for election from the date of the dissolution if he or she seeks re‑election at the next general election.