The Social Security (Graduated Retirement Benefit) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations further amend the Social Security (Graduated Retirement Benefit) (No. 2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1978 (“the principal Regulations”), which preserve the rights, prospective rights or expectations of persons to graduated retirement benefit (“GRB”) by retaining the effect of sections 35 and 36 of the National Insurance Act (Northern Ireland) 1966 (“the Act of 1966”).

Regulation 2 inserts regulation IA into the principal Regulations. This provides for section 135 of the Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 (“the Administration Act”) to apply to alterations in the rate of GRB as it applies to alterations in the rates of benefits under Parts H to V of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992.

Regulation 3 amends section 35(7) of the Act of 1966 (which is set out in Schedule I to those Regulations) so as to limit the circumstances in which a person is treated as entitled to a retirement pension for the purpose of enabling him to receive GRB on its own. A person is not to be so treated if he has elected to defer his retirement pension or if he has withdrawn his claim.

These Regulations are made in consequence of Article 128 of, and paragraph 3 of Schedule 4 to, the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1995. Article 128 came into operation on 16th December 1995 by virtue of Article 1(3) of that Order and paragraph 3 of Schedule 4 came into operation on 19th December 1995 by virtue of the Pensions (1995 Order) (Commencement No.1) Order (Northern Ireland) 1995 (S.R. 1995 No. 477 (C. II)). As they are made before the end of the period of 6 months beginning with the coming into operation of those provisions, they are exempt by virtue of section 150(5)(b) of the Administration Act from reference to the Social Security Advisory Committee.