The Social Security Revaluation of Earnings Factors Order (Northern Ireland) 1997

Statutory Rules of Northern Ireland

1997 No. 204

SOCIAL SECURITY

The Social Security Revaluation of Earnings Factors Order (Northern Ireland) 1997

Made

7th April 1997

Coming into operation

12th May 1997

Whereas the Secretary of State for Social Security has made an Order(1) under section 148(3) and (4) of the Social Security Administration Act 1992(2):

Now, therefore, the Department of Health and Social Services for Northern Ireland, in exercise of the powers conferred on it by section 130 of the Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 1992(3) and of all other powers enabling it in that behalf, hereby makes the following Order:

Citation and commencement

1.  This Order may be cited as the Social Security Revaluation of Earnings Factors Order (Northern Ireland) 1997 and shall come into operation on 12th May 1997.

Revaluation of earnings factors

2.  The earnings factors(4) relevant—

(a) to the calculation—

(i) of the additional pension in the rate of any long-term benefit; or

(ii) of any guaranteed minimum pension; or

(b) to any other calculation required under Part III of the Pension Schemes (Northern Ireland) Act 1993(5) (including that Part as modified by or under any other enactment),

are directed to be increased for the tax years specified in the first column of the Schedule to this Order by the percentage of their amount shown opposite those tax years in the second column of that Schedule.

Rounding of fractional amounts

3.  Where any earnings factor relevant to the calculation specified in Article 2(a)(i) of this Order, as increased in accordance with this Order, would not but for this Article be expressed as a whole number of pounds, it shall be so expressed by the rounding down of any fraction of a pound less than one half and the rounding up of any other fraction of a pound.

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Health and Social Services for Northern Ireland on

L.S.

John O'Neill

Assistant Secretary

7th April 1997.

Article 2

SCHEDULE

Tax Year	Percentage Increase
1978-79	377.0
1979-80	320.7
1980-81	251.6
1981-82	194.8
1982-83	167.6
1983-84	148.0
1984-85	129.6
1985-86	115.5
1986-87	97.9
1987-88	84.4
1988-89	69.5
1989-90	53.5
1990-91	43.1
1991-92	30.0
1992-93	22.1
1993-94	16.3
1994-95	12.7
1995-96	8.0
1996-97	5.0

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order.)

This Order, which corresponds to an Order (S.I. 1997/1117) made by the Secretary of State for Social Security under section 148(3) and (4) of the Social Security Administration Act 1992, directs that the earnings factors relevant to the calculation of the additional pension in the rate of any long-term benefit or of any guaranteed minimum pension or to any other calculation required under Part III of the Pension Schemes (Northern Ireland) Act 1993 for the tax years specified in the Schedule to this Order are to be increased by the percentage of their amount specified in that Schedule. The percentage for the tax year 1996-97 is 5 per cent. and those for earlier years have been increased so that the earnings factors for those years are revalued at 1996-97 earnings levels.

The Order also provides for the rounding of fractional amounts for earnings factors relevant to the calcaulation of the additional pension in the rate of any long-term benefit. Rounding for the purpose of the calculation of any guaranteed minimum pension is not required by virtue of section 23(2) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 (c. 7).

(1)

S.I. 1997/1117

(2)

1992 c. 5

(3)

1992 c. 8; section 130 was amended by paragraph 40 of Schedule 7 to the Pension Schemes (Northern Ireland) Act 1993 (c. 49)

(4)

See sections 22 and 23 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 (c. 7). Section 23(1) was amended by Article 131(1) of the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 (S.I. 1995/3213 (N.I. 22)) and section 23(2) was amended by paragraph 31 of Schedule 7 to the Pension Schemes (Northern Ireland) Act 1993

(5)

1993 c. 49