The Social Security(Northern Ireland) Order 1989

Contributions

Amendments relating to primary Class 1 contributions

3.—(1) In section 4 of the principal Act, for subsections (6) to (6B) (computation of primary Class 1 contributions) there shall be substituted the following subsections—

“(6) Where a primary Class 1 contribution is payable, the amount of that contribution shall be the aggregate of—

(a) the initial primary percentage of so much of the earnings paid in the tax week, in respect of the employment in question, as does not exceed the current lower earnings limit; and

(b) the main primary percentage of so much of those earnings as exceeds that limit but does not exceed the upper earnings limit;

but this subsection is subject to regulations under subsection (7) below or sections 123 to 126 below and to Article 29 of the Pensions Order (contracted-out rates).

(6A) For the purposes of this Act the primary percentages shall be as follows—

(a) the initial primary percentage shall be 2 per cent.; and

(b) the main primary percentage shall be 9 per cent.;

but the rates of those primary percentages are subject to alteration under section 120 below.

(6B) In the case of earners paid otherwise than weekly, any reference in subsection (6) above to the current upper, or (as the case may be) lower, earnings limit shall be taken as a reference to the prescribed equivalent of that limit.”.

(2) In section 128 of that Act (destination of contributions), in paragraphs (a) and (i) of subsection (4) (“appropriate health service allocation” and “appropriate employment protection allocation”, when in force, to include specified percentage of earnings in respect of which primary Class 1 contributions were paid) after the word “paid” there shall be inserted the words “at the main primary percentage rate”.

(3) In Schedule 17 to that Act (glossary of expressions) there shall be inserted at the appropriate places—

““Initial primary percentage”; “main primary percentage”; “primary percentage”.

See section 4(6) and (6A). Construe “initial primary percentage rate” and “main primary percentage rate” as references to the percentage rates from time to time specified in section 4(6A)(a) or (b) as the initial or, as the case may be, main primary percentage.”

““Main primary percentage”.

See “initial primary percentage”; “main primary percentage”; “primary percentage” above.”

““Primary percentage”.

See “initial primary percentage”; “main primary percentage”; “primary percentage” above.”

Repayment of contributions where earnings become repayable

4.  In Schedule 1 to the principal Act (contributions: supplementary provisions) in paragraph 6(1) (matters for which regulations may provide) after head (g) there shall be inserted the following head—

“(gg) for the repayment, in prescribed cases, of the whole or a prescribed part of any contributions paid by reference to earnings which have become repayable;”.

Abolition of Consolidated Fund supplement to contributions

5.  No payments by way of supplement, or adjustment of supplement, under section 1(5) of the principal Act shall be made after 31st March 1989 in respect of any contributions whether paid before, on or after that date.

Earnings factors

6.—(1) Section 13 of the principal Act (contribution conditions and earnings factors) shall be amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (4).

(2) In subsection (5) (manner in which tables and rules are to be drawn up) after the words “so that in general—” there shall be inserted the following paragraph—

“(a) for any tax year beginning on or after 6th April 1987, the amount of earnings on which primary Class 1 contributions have been paid or treated as paid gives rise, subject to subsection (5A) below, to an earnings factor for that year equal or approximating to the amount of those earnings; and”.

(3) After subsection (5A) there shall be inserted the following subsection—

“(5AA) Regulations may impose limits with respect to the earnings factors which a person may have or be treated as having in respect of any one tax year.”.

(4) After subsection (5B) (duty to maintain and retain records) there shall be inserted the following subsection—

“(5C) Where the Department is satisfied that records of earnings relevant for the purpose of calculating a person’s earnings factors for a tax year beginning on or after 6th April 1987 have not been maintained or retained or are otherwise unobtainable then, for the purpose of determining those earnings factors, it may—

(a) compute, in such manner as it thinks fit, an amount which shall be regarded as the amount of that person’s earnings on which primary Class 1 contributions have been paid or treated as paid, or

(b) take the amount of those earnings to be such sum as it may specify in the particular case.”.

(5) The Earnings Factor Regulations, as in operation for the purpose of determining earnings factors for the tax years beginning with 6th April 1985 and 6th April 1986, shall have effect, and be taken always to have had effect, with the substitution in paragraph 3 of Schedule 1 (which, as amended by regulation 2(3) of the Amending Regulations, provided in certain cases for the aggregation of separate contributions) for the words from “where the values” to “those sums” of the words—

“where, in the case of any two or more separate sums—

(a) the values to be accorded to F (apart from this paragraph) would fall to be ascertained under the same head of paragraph 2(e) above, and

(b) the values to be so accorded to G would fall to be ascertained under the same head of paragraph 2(f) above,

those sums”.

(6) In paragraph (5)—

“the Earnings Factor Regulations” means the Social Security (Earnings Factor) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1979(1); and

“the Amending Regulations” means the Social Security (Earnings Factor) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1985(2).

(7) The amendment by paragraph (5) of a provision contained in regulations shall not be taken to have prejudiced any power to make further regulations revoking or amending that provision, whether in relation to the tax years there mentioned or otherwise.

(8) The Social Security (Earnings Factor) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1988(3) shall have effect, and be deemed always to have had effect, as if the amendment made by paragraph (3) had come into operation before the making of those regulations.

(1)

S.R. 1979 No. 193

(2)

S.R. 1985 No. 263

(3)

S.R. 1988 No. 73