The Personal Pension Schemes (Appropriate Schemes) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations consolidate the Personal Pension Schemes (Appropriate Schemes) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1988 with amendments. The Regulations also make provisions which are consequential upon Part IV of the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 (“the Order”). In addition to minor and drafting amendments the Regulations make the following changes of substance—

• they provide for the responsibilities of the Occupational Pensions Board (which is being dissolved) in relation to the issue, variation, cancellation and surrender of appropriate scheme certificates for personal pension schemes to be carried out by the Department of Health and Social Services (“the Department”); and

• they make provision for the cancellation, variation or surrender of appropriate scheme certificates in circumstances where there is a change in the information given to the Department;

• they amend the method of calculating or estimating earnings;

• they allow investment companies with variable capital to be investment vehicles for unit trust schemes which operate as appropriate personal pension schemes.

• The Regulations make provision in relation to—

• the form of schemes which may be appropriate schemes (regulation 2 and Schedule 1);

• the persons who and bodies which may establish appropriate schemes (regulation 3);

• the requirements in respect of an application and issue of an appropriate scheme certificate (regulations 4 and 5);

• the requirement to give the Department information in respect of the application for cancellation, variation or the surrender of an appropriate scheme certificate (regulations 6 to 9);

• the requirements in respect of notices under section 40 of the Pension Schemes (Northern Ireland) Act 1993 (regulations 10 and 11);

• the circumstances in which minimum contributions are not to be paid, manner of payment and allocation of minimum contributions (regulations 12 to 14);

• the calculation and estimation of earnings (regulation 15);

• the calculation or adjustment of minimum contributions (regulations 16 and 17);

• the cancellation of membership of interest-bearing account-funded appropriate schemes (regulation 18 and Schedule 2).

Regulations 19 and 20 and Schedule 3 make transitional provision and revocations.

Some of the enabling provisions under which these Regulations are made were amended by Article 136 of, and paragraphs 15(a), 30(a) and 55 of Schedule 3 to, the Order. The Pensions (1995 Order) (Commencement No. 2) Order (Northern Ireland) 1996 (S.R. 1996 No. 91 (C. 4)) provides for the coming into operation of Article 136 of, and paragraphs 15(a), 30(a) and 55 of Schedule 3 to, the Order on 6th April 1996 for the purpose only of authorising the making of regulations.