The Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Contracting-out) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002

Contents

1Citation and commencement#

(1)These Regulations may be cited as the Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Contracting-out) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002 and shall come into operation on 6th April 2002.

(2)The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to an Act of the Assembly.

2Amendment of the Occupational Pension Schemes (Contracting-out) Regulations#

(1)The Occupational Pension Schemes (Contracting-out) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 shall be amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (16).

(2)In regulation 3(2) (notices by employers of intended election)—

(a)sub-paragraph (c) shall be omitted, and

(b)in sub-paragraph (g)—

(i)after head (i) there shall be inserted “and”, and

(ii)head (iii) shall be omitted.

(3)In regulation 6(2) (information to be included in an election) sub-paragraphs (e) and (f) shall be omitted.

(4)In regulation 9 (making of elections by employers for variation or surrender of contracting-out certificates) for paragraph (1) there shall be substituted the following paragraph—“1 Subject to paragraphs (2), (3) and (7) and regulation 10, an election with a view to the variation or surrender of a contracting-out certificate—a may be made only after notices of intention have been given in accordance with paragraphs (4) and (5), andb shall be made in writing to the Inland Revenue.”

(5). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(6). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(7). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(8). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(9). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(10)In regulation 23 (requirements for meeting the statutory standard)—

(a)after paragraph (e) the word “and” shall be omitted, and

(b)after paragraph (f) there shall be added—“andg must take no account of any provision made by the scheme for the suspension, in the circumstances specified in regulation 20A(2), of benefits derived from section 5(2B) rights.”

(11)In regulation 31 (deduction of minimum payments from earnings)—

(a)in paragraph (1) for “Every” there shall be substituted “Subject to paragraph (3A), every”;

(b)in paragraph (3) for “paragraph (4)” there shall be substituted “paragraphs (3A) and (4)”, and

(c)after paragraph (3) there shall be inserted the following paragraph—“3A Where the payment of emoluments in respect of which minimum payments are payable does not exceed the amount specified in regulations under section 5 of the Contributions and Benefits Act (earnings limits and thresholds for Class 1 contributions) as the primary threshold for the purposes of that Act (or the amount which is, in relation to that payment of emoluments, the amount prescribed under that section as the equivalent of that threshold) no amount shall be deducted from those emoluments under this regulation.”

(12). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(13). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(14)In regulation 62(2) (fixed rate revaluation of guaranteed minimum pensions for early leavers)—

(a)in sub-paragraph (d) for “, 6.25 per cent. compound.” there shall be substituted “but before 6th April 2002, 6.25 per cent. compound;”, and

(b)after that sub-paragraph there shall be added the following sub-paragraph—“e where that period of service terminates on or after 6th April 2002, 4.5 per cent. compound.”

(15). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(16). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3Amendment of the Protected Rights (Transfer Payment) Regulations#

(1)The Protected Rights (Transfer Payment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 shall be amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) and (3).

(2)After regulation 4 (transfer payments to salary related contracted-out schemes) there shall be inserted the following regulation—“4A 1 A transfer payment may be made to a section 49 scheme in the circumstances specified in paragraph (2) and subject to the conditions specified in paragraph (3).2 The circumstances referred to in paragraph (1) are that—a the member consents in writing to the making of the transfer payment, andb either—i the member has entered employment with an employer who is or was a contributor to the section 49 scheme, orii the member was previously a member of the receiving scheme.3 The conditions referred to in paragraph (1) are that—a the transfer payment (whether or not it forms part of a larger payment giving effect to both protected and other rights) is of an amount at least equal to the value of the protected rights to which effect is being given, andb the transfer payment is approved by the Inland Revenue, whether or not subject to conditions.4 In this regulation “section 49 scheme” means an occupational pension scheme which was formerly a contracted-out scheme and which the Inland Revenue are under a duty to supervise in accordance with section 49 of the 1993 Act.”

(3)In regulation 5 (transfer payments to overseas schemes)—

(a)after “overseas scheme” there shall be inserted “or an overseas arrangement”;

(b)in paragraph (b) for the words from “and has entered” to the end there shall be substituted “and, where the transfer payment is to be made to an overseas scheme, has entered employment to which that scheme applies”;

(c)in paragraph (d) after “the scheme” there shall be inserted “or arrangement”, and

(d)in paragraphs (d) and (e) after “receiving scheme” there shall be inserted “or arrangement”.

4Amendment of the Occupational Pension Schemes (Investment) Regulations#

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5Amendment of the Personal and Occupational Pension Schemes (Protected Rights) Regulations#

(1)The Personal and Occupational Pension Schemes (Protected Rights) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997 shall be amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (7).

(2)In regulation 4(2) (conditions applying to pensions and annuities which give effect to protected rights) for sub-paragraph (b) there shall be substituted the following sub-paragraph—“b except where, in the case of an unmarried member, the member has agreed to the rate being determined on his or her life only, on the basis that the member will, in the event of his or her death, leave a widow or widower.”

(3)For regulation 5 (circumstances in which and periods for which pension or annuity is to be paid to widow or widower after being paid to member) there shall be substituted the following regulation—“5 1 For the purposes of section 25(1)(b)(i) (the pension or annuity requirements)—a the prescribed circumstances are that the rate of the pension or annuity paid to the member has not, by virtue of regulation 4(2)(b), been determined by reference to his or her life only, andb the prescribed period is, subject to paragraph (2), the remainder of the widow’s or widower’s life.2 There is excluded from the period prescribed in paragraph (1)(b) any period after the widow’s or widower’s remarriage under pensionable age.”

(4). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(5)In regulation 9(1)(a) (suspension and forfeiture of payments giving effect to protected rights)—

(a)the words “or otherwise” shall be omitted, and

(b)for the words from “, so however” to the end there shall be substituted“and that there is provision in the scheme which requires that, in those circumstances, sums equivalent to such payments—i must, except in so far as such sums are not, in the opinion of the trustees or managers, required for the maintenance of the pensioner, be paid or applied for his maintenance;ii may, in so far as such sums are not, in the opinion of the trustees or managers, required for the maintenance of the pensioner, be paid or applied for the maintenance of any dependants of the pensioner;iii must, in so far as such sums are not, in the opinion of the trustees or managers, required for the maintenance of the pensioner or of any dependant of his, be held by the trustees or managers for the pensioner until he is again able to act or, if he should die before that happens, for his estate”

(6)In regulation 12 (death of scheme member before effect given to his protected rights)—

(a)paragraph (1) shall be omitted;

(b). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .and

(c)in paragraphs (5) and (9), sub-paragraph (c), and the word “or” immediately preceding it, shall be omitted.

(7)In regulation 13 (death before effect given to protected rights: interim arrangements for widow or widower)—

(a)in paragraph (1) for the words from “survived by” to “effect” there shall be substituted “survived by a widow or widower, effect”, and

(b)paragraph (3) shall be omitted.

6Amendment of the Occupational Pension Schemes (Modification of Schemes) Regulations#

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

7Amendment of the Personal Pension Schemes (Appropriate Schemes) Regulations#

After regulation 6 of the Personal Pension Schemes (Appropriate Schemes) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997 (requirement to give the Department information) there shall be inserted the following regulation—“6A As respects any personal pension scheme, the persons prescribed for the purposes of section 152(2) (information for purposes of contracting-out) are—a the earner or the widow or widower to whom the information relates, andb any person who is, or who in the opinion of the Department or, as the case may be, the Inland Revenue is likely to become, the person responsible for making payments derived from the protected rights.”

8Amendment of the Occupational Pension Schemes (Assignment, Forfeiture, Bankruptcy etc.) Regulations#

In regulation 2 of the Occupational Pension Schemes (Assignment, Forfeiture, Bankruptcy etc.) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997 (commutation of a pension under an occupational pension scheme) after paragraph (1) there shall be inserted the following paragraph—“1A There are also prescribed for the purposes of Article 89(5)(c)(iii) the circumstances where—a the rights of the member consist only of rights derived from equivalent pension benefits under Part III of the National Insurance Act (Northern Ireland) 1966, andb the member has consented to the commutation.”

Schedule · Provisions conferring powers exercised in making these regulations

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.