114BRecovery of overpayment to retired employee

#### 114B Recovery of overpayment to retired employee (1) If: (a) an employee retires from his or her employment; and (b) the retired employee is or may be entitled to a pension or a lump sum, or both a pension and a lump sum, under a superannuation scheme; and (c) the MRCC is of the opinion that the retired employee may have been paid, or might be paid, amounts of compensation under this Act in excess of the amounts that he or she was entitled to receive because of section 20, 21 or 21A; the following provisions of this section apply. (2) The MRCC may give written notice to the administrator of the scheme: (a) stating that the retired employee may receive, or may have received, an overpayment of compensation; and (b) requiring the administrator to tell the MRCC whether the retired employee has received any payment in respect of his or her entitlement referred to in paragraph (1)(b) or whether all the retired employee’s benefits under the scheme have been deferred; and (c) requiring the administrator, if the retired employee has not received any such payment (unless all the retired employee’s benefits under the scheme have been deferred): (i) not to pay any pension or lump sum to the retired employee until the administrator receives a notice from the MRCC under subsection (5); and (ii) to give the MRCC, as soon as practicable, particulars of the rate of pension, or the lump sum worked out as at the date of retirement, or the rate of pension and the lump sum as so worked out, as the case may be, that is payable to the retired employee under the superannuation scheme. (3) The MRCC must give to the retired employee a written notice stating that it has given a notice to the administrator of the scheme under subsection (2) and explaining how this section works. (4) The following provisions apply if the retired employee has not received any payment in respect of his or her entitlement referred to in paragraph (1)(b) but do not apply if all the retired employee’s benefits under the scheme have been deferred. (5) When the MRCC receives from the administrator of the superannuation scheme particulars of the rate of pension, or the lump sum, or the rate of pension and the lump sum, payable to the retired employee, then the MRCC must, within 2 working days after receiving those particulars: (a) determine whether an overpayment of compensation to the employee has occurred; and (b) give written notice to the administrator: (i) if it determines that no overpayment has occurred—stating that fact; or (ii) otherwise—stating the amount of the overpayment and requiring the administrator to pay that amount to the MRCC in accordance with this section. (6) The MRCC must not reduce the rate or amount of compensation payable to the retired employee under this Act until it has given to the administrator of the superannuation scheme the notice referred to in subsection (5). (7) The amount to be stated in the notice under subparagraph (5)(b)(ii) is the amount by which the sum of the amounts of any compensation paid after the retirement of the employee exceeds the sum of the amounts of compensation that should have been paid because of section 20, 21 or 21A, as the case requires. (8) The administrator of the superannuation scheme is to pay the amount of the overpayment of compensation to the MRCC in accordance with subsections (9) and (10) out of the payments of pension or of a lump sum that would otherwise have been made by the administrator to the retired employee. (9) If the amount of any payment of pension or of a lump sum that would otherwise have been made by the administrator to the relevant employee on any day is less than or equal to the adjusted overpayment worked out as at that day, that amount is to be paid by the administrator to the MRCC instead of to the retired employee. (10) If the amount of any payment of pension or of a lump sum that would otherwise have been made by the administrator to the relevant employee on any day is greater than the adjusted overpayment worked out as at that day, so much of that amount as is equal to that adjusted overpayment is to be paid by the administrator to the MRCC instead of to the retired employee. (11) For the purposes of subsections (9) and (10), the adjusted overpayment as at a particular day is the amount of the original overpayment less any amounts that have been paid by the administrator to the MRCC before that day in reduction of the original overpayment. (12) The payment by the administrator of an amount to the MRCC under a notice given under subsection (5) discharges, to the extent of that amount: (a) the liability of the administrator to pay that amount to the retired employee; and (b) the liability of the employee to pay that amount to the MRCC. (13) The administrator of a superannuation scheme must comply with a requirement made of the administrator under this section by the MRCC. However, failure to comply with the requirement is not an offence. (14) This section has effect despite: (a) sections 143 and 143A of the Superannuation Act 1922; and (b) sections 85 and 85A of the Defence Force Retirement Benefits Act 1948; and (c) sections 129 and 130 of the Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefits Act 1973; and (d) sections 118 and 119 of the Superannuation Act 1976. (15) In this section: > working day, in relation to a notice to be given by the MRCC, means a day other than a Saturday, a Sunday, or a day that is a public holiday in any State or Territory.