The Protected Rights (Transfer Payment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations replace the Protected Rights (Transfer Payment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987 (“the 1987 Regulations”) which are, subject to transitional provisions, now revoked. The Regulations supplement the changes introduced by the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 (“the 1995 Order”) to Part III of the Pension Schemes (Northern Ireland) Act 1993 (“the 1993 Act”) (although they are made under powers in the 1993 Act which have not been amended by the 1995 Order). They also consolidate and amend those provisions of the 1987 Regulations which remain relevant. In addition to minor and drafting amendments the Regulations make the following changes of substance—

• they provide for treating separately protected rights in respect of any period before 6th April 1997 and in respect of any period from 6th April 1997;

• they set out revised conditions for the making of a transfer payment to an overseas scheme, and

• they no longer require the Occupational Pensions Board, which is being dissolved, to approve transfer payments.

Regulation 1 provides for the citation, commencement and interpretation of the Regulations.

Regulations 2 to 5 make provision for the circumstances in which and the conditions subject to which effect may be given to the protected rights of a member of a scheme which is or was a money purchase contracted-out scheme or an appropriate personal pension scheme by the making of a transfer payment to another pension scheme.

Regulation 6 modifies Part III of the 1993 Act, where a transfer payment has been made to a scheme which is contracted-out under section 5(2) of that Act (a salary related contracted-out scheme), in order to accommodate the guaranteed minimum pensions to which a member of such a scheme becomes entitled in consequence of that payment.

Regulation 7 makes consequential revocations and transitional provisions.