The Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Automatic Enrolment) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2013

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Automatic Enrolment) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2013 and shall come into operation on 14th September 2013.

Amendment of the Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Automatic Enrolment) Regulations

2.  In regulation 35 of the Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Automatic Enrolment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010(1) (further conditions applicable to automatic enrolment schemes)—

(a) in paragraph (1)—

(i) in sub-paragraph (a)(ii)(bb) for “authority, and” substitute “authority;”;

(ii) in sub-paragraph (b) for “(pension rules).” substitute “(pension rules), and”;

(iii) after sub-paragraph (b) add—

“(c) except as provided in paragraph (1A), that the provisions governing any part of a scheme which provides money purchase benefits must not include a provision that allows for—

(i) any amount to be deducted from any payments made to the scheme by or on behalf of or in respect of the jobholder;

(ii) any amount to be deducted from any income or capital gain arising from the investment of such payments, or

(iii) the value of the jobholder’s rights under the scheme to be reduced by any amount,

where the amount is to be paid to a third party under an agreement between the employer and the third party.”;

(b) after paragraph (1) insert—

“(1A) Paragraph (1)(c) does not apply where an employer has entered into a legally enforceable agreement with a third party before 10th May 2013 under which an amount is to be paid to the third party in one or more of the ways set out in paragraph (1)(c)(i) to (iii).”;

(c) in paragraph (2) after the definition of “relevant benefits” add—

““third party” means any person other than—

(a)

the jobholder;

(b)

where the scheme is an occupational pension scheme, the trustees or managers of the scheme, or

(c)

where the scheme is a personal pension scheme, the provider of the scheme.”.

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department for Social Development on 13th September 2013

(L.S.)

Will Haire

A senior officer of the Department for Social Development