The Occupational Pension Schemes (Reference Scheme and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997

Amendment of the Occupational Pension Schemes (Contracting-out) Regulations

3.—(1) The Occupational Pension Schemes (Contracting-out) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996(1) shall be amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (5).

(2) In regulation 39 (circumstances in which schemes may change mode of contracting out)—

(a) before “Subject to any regulations” there shall be inserted “—(1)”;

(b) at the end there shall be added the following paragraph—

“(2) Subject to any regulations made under Article 146 of the Order and to regulation 77(2), a scheme which has been contracted out by virtue of section 5(2) of the Act(3) may become contracted out under section 5(3) of the Act only if its trustees have been discharged of all liability to provide guaranteed minimum pensions and section 5(2B) rights.”.

(3) In regulation 45 (approval of arrangements for schemes ceasing to be contracted out)—

(a) in paragraph (3)(a) for the words from “a rule which provides” to the end there shall be substituted “a protection rule”;

(b) after paragraph (3) there shall be inserted the following paragraphs—

“(3A) For the purposes of paragraph (3)(a) a protection rule is a rule which provides that the total amount of the benefits under the scheme for each member at normal pension age and the member’s widow or widower at the day following the date of death of the member will not be less than the aggregate of—

(a) any such benefits arising in respect of section 5(2B) rights and guaranteed minimum pensions;

(b) any other such benefits due in respect of rights which have accrued to the member in relation to service in employment which was contracted out before the principal appointed day under section 5(2); and

(c) any such benefits due in respect of rights which have accrued to the member in relation to service in employment which was not contracted out.

(3B) The amount of the benefits mentioned in paragraph (3A)(a) and (b) and, so far as they relate to service on or before the date on which the scheme ceased to be contracted out, those mentioned in paragraph (3A)(c) shall be calculated on an early leaver basis in accordance with Chapter I of Part IV of the Act(4) (preservation of benefit under occupational pension schemes) and any regulations made under that Chapter, as if the member had ceased to be in pensionable service under the scheme on that date.”.

(4) In regulation 46(2) (supervision of schemes that have ceased to contract out) for “regulation 5(4) of the Occupational Pension Schemes (Discharge of Liability) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1985” there shall be substituted “regulations 3 and, in the case of a pension or accrued benefit under a relevant scheme, 11 of the Occupational Pension Schemes (Discharge of Liability) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997(5)”.

(5) In regulation 77 (transitional arrangements for schemes contracted out under section 5(2) of the Act to become contracted out under section 5(3) of the Act) after paragraph (6)(6) there shall be added the following paragraph—

“(7) Section 51(2) of the Act(7) (payment of contributions equivalent premiums) shall be modified so as to have effect in relation to a scheme to which this regulation applies as though it were a salary related scheme, save that an election to pay a contributions equivalent premium shall apply only in respect of the earner’s service before the principal appointed day.”.

(1)

S.R. 1996 No. 493, as amended by S.R. 1997 No. 160

(2)

Regulation 77 was amended by paragraph 5(14) of Schedule 1 to S.R. 1997 No. 160

(3)

Section 5(2) was substituted by Article 133(3) of the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1995

(4)

Chapter I of Part IV is amended by paragraphs 14 and 15 of Schedule 1 to the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1995

(5)

S.R. 1997 No. 159

(6)

Paragraph (6) was substituted by paragraph 5(14)(b) of the Schedule to S.R. 1997 No. 160

(7)

Section 51(2) was substituted by Article 138(1) of the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1995