The Occupational Pension Schemes (Trustees' Knowledge and Understanding) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

Articles 224 and 225 of the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 2005 (“the Order”) set out requirements that trustees of occupational pension schemes must satisfy in order to exercise their functions as trustees properly. Trustees must be conversant with and have knowledge and understanding of the matters listed in Articles 224(3) and (4) and 225(3) and (5) of the Order.

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

Regulation 2 exempts trustees of small schemes from the requirements in Articles 224(3) and (4) and 225(3) and (5) of the Order (“the trustee requirements”).

Regulations 3 and 4 provide that individual trustees and persons who exercise functions of corporate trustees have, from the date of their appointment, a six-month period of grace from the trustee requirements. This does not apply if the person is an independent trustee for the purpose of Article 23 of the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 or was appointed as a consequence of holding himself out as having expertise in any of the matters set out in Articles 224(4) or 225(5) of the Order.

The Pensions (2005 Order) (Commencement No. 9) Order (Northern Ireland) 2006 (S.R. 2006 No. 95 (C. 7)) provides for the coming into operation of Article 226(2) the enabling provision under which these Regulations are made, for the purpose only of authorising the making of regulations, on 9th March 2006 and for all other purposes on 6th April 2006.

As these Regulations are made before the end of the period of six months beginning with the coming into operation of the provision of the Order by virtue of which they are made, the requirement to consult under Article 289(1) of the Order does not apply by virtue of paragraph (2)(c) of that Article.