Western Australian Consolidated Acts Western Australian Consolidated Acts (1) Subject to this
section, on the death of a former member who on ceasing to be a member became
entitled to a pension under section 14, the spouse or de facto partner of
the former member is entitled to be paid until her death an annual pension at
the rate of —
(a)
two-thirds of the pension that would continue to be or be payable under this
Act to the former member if he had not died and his pension entitlement
had not been converted, either wholly or in part, to a lump sum payment; or
(b)
two-thirds of the pension that would have continued to be payable under this
Act to the former member if he had not died and if he had retired on the
day of his death after contributing to the scheme for a period of
16 years as an ordinary member and his pension entitlement had not been
converted, either wholly or in part, to a lump sum payment,
whichever is the
greater rate.
(1a) In the case of a
spouse or de facto partner of a former member who ceased to be a member before
the coming into operation of the Parliamentary Superannuation Amendment
Act 1980 1 , the pension entitlement provided for in
subsection (1)(b) shall be calculated with reference to section 13
as it was prior to the coming into operation of the Parliamentary
Superannuation Amendment Act 1980 1 .
(1b) Where, after the
coming into operation of the Acts Amendment (Parliamentary Superannuation)
Act 1986 1 , a former member —
(a)
converted all of his annual pension entitlement to a lump sum payment under
section 16, the spouse or de facto partner of the former member is not
entitled to an annual pension under subsection (1);
(b)
converted a portion of his annual pension entitlement to a lump sum payment
under section 16, the rate of annual pension to which the spouse or de
facto partner of the former member is entitled under subsection (1) shall
be reduced by an amount that bears to that rate the same ratio as the portion
so converted by the former member bears to his annual pension entitlement
before such conversion.
(2) Subject to this
section, on the death of a member who has contributed to the scheme for not
less than 16 years, the spouse or de facto partner of the member is
entitled to be paid, until her death, an annual pension at the rate of
two-thirds of the pension that would from time to time be payable under this
Act to the member if he had not died but had ceased to be member on the
date of his death and thereby become entitled to a pension under
section 14.
(3) Subject to this
section, on the death of a member who has contributed to the scheme for less
than 16 years, the spouse or de facto partner of the member is entitled
to be paid until her death an annual pension at the rate of —
(a)
two-thirds of the pension that would from time to time be payable under this
Act to the member if he had not died but had retired on the same day as
that on which he died and thereby become entitled to a pension under
section 14; or
(b)
two-thirds of the pension that would from time to time be payable under this
Act to the member if he had not died but had retired on the same day as
that on which he died after contributing to the scheme for a period of
16 years as an ordinary member,
whichever is the
greater rate.
(4) The pension, if
any, payable under this section to —
(a) a
spouse or de facto partner referred to in subsection (1) or (1a) if her
marriage to the former member took place before the former member finally
ceased to be a member; or
(b) a
spouse or de facto partner referred to in subsection (2) or (3),
shall cease to be
payable if she re-marries prior to attaining the age of 55 years,
but —
(c) the
pension shall again become payable during any period after such re-marriage
during which the spouse or de facto partner is not a party to a
subsisting marriage;
(d)
during any period of re-marriage the pension or any part thereof as is
determined by the Board may be paid if the spouse or de facto partner
satisfies the Board that the loss of pension causes severe hardship; and
(e)
shall, in any event, again become payable when she attains the age of
55 years.
(5) A pension is not
payable under this section to a spouse or de facto partner referred
to in subsection (1) or (1a) if her marriage to the former member took
place after the former member finally ceased to be a member,
except —
(a) if
the spouse or de facto partner is aged 55 years or more at the date of
the former member’s death; or
(b) as
from the date on which the spouse or de facto partner attains the age of
55 years if she was less than that age at the date of the former
member’s death, but no pension is payable under this paragraph if the
spouse or de facto partner has re-married prior to attaining that age,
and any pension which
becomes payable to a spouse or de facto partner pursuant to this
subsection shall cease to be payable upon her re-marriage.
(6) Where more than
one person would be entitled under this section to be paid a pension as
the spouse or de facto partner of a member or former member, the pension, if
any, that each of those persons is entitled to be paid under this
section shall be such proportion, if any, of the pension that would have
been payable under this section had only one person been so entitled, as
the Board determines, having regard to the respective needs of those persons
and such other matters as the Board considers relevant.
[Section 19 amended by No. 94 of 1975
s. 11; No. 115 of 1976 s. 4; No. 54 of 1980 s. 10;
No. 58 of 1986 s. 10; No. 31 of 1989 s. 11 and 15;
No. 3 of 2002 s. 91(1) and 94.]
[ 19A. Deleted by No. 3 of 2002 s. 95.]