The Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (General Levy) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020

Statutory Rules of Northern Ireland

2020 No. 30

Pensions

The Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (General Levy) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020

Made

10th March 2020

Coming into operation

1st April 2020

The Department for Communities makes the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 170 and 177(2) of the Pension Schemes (Northern Ireland) Act 1993(1) and now vested in it(2).

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (General Levy) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020 and shall come into operation on 1st April 2020.

(2) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954(3) shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to an Act of the Assembly.

Amendment of the Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (General Levy) Regulations

2.—(1) The Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (General Levy) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005(4) are amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) and (3).

(2) In regulation 5 (amount of the general levy: occupational pension schemes) for the Table(5) substitute—

“TABLE

Column 1	Column 2	Column 3
Number of members on the reference day	Amount of levy calculated by reference to number of members (M)	Minimum amount of levy
2 to 11		£75
12 to 99	£3∙17 x M	£75
100 to 999	£2∙29 x M	£310
1,000 to 4,999	£1∙78 x M	£2,290
5,000 to 9,999	£1∙35 x M	£8,900
10,000 to 499,999	£0∙95 x M	£13,500
500,000 or more	£0∙72 x M	£475,000”

(3) In regulation 6 (amount of the general levy: personal pension schemes) for the Table(6) substitute—

“TABLE

Column 1	Column 2	Column 3
Number of members on the reference day	Amount of levy calculated by reference to number of members (M)	Minimum amount of levy
2 to 11		£30
12 to 99	£1∙27 x M	£30
100 to 999	£0∙89 x M	£130
1,000 to 4,999	£0∙76 x M	£890
5,000 to 9,999	£0∙51 x M	£3,800
10,000 to 499,999	£0∙39 x M	£5,100
500,000 or more	£0∙29 x M	£195,000”

Revocation

3.  The Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Levies) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012(7) are revoked.

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department for Communities on 10th March 2020

(L.S.)

Anne McCleary

A senior officer of the Department for Communities

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations further amend the Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (General Levy) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005 (“the 2005 Regulations”).

Regulation 2 substitutes the Tables in regulations 5 and 6 of the 2005 Regulations to specify the new figures to be used in calculating the rate at which the general levy is payable for the financial year beginning on 1st April 2020 and subsequent financial years. The purpose of the general levy is to meet the expenditure mentioned in section 170(1) of the Pension Schemes (Northern Ireland) Act 1993. Specified occupational and personal pension schemes pay the general levy (see regulation 2 of the 2005 Regulations). The general levy is used to fund the Pensions Regulator and the Pensions Ombudsman and partly to fund the Money and Pensions Service. The effect of the changes is to increase the general levy rates for both occupational and personal pension schemes by 10%. This is with the exception of the general levy for schemes with 2 to 11 members which is subject to a proportionately greater increase. For occupational pension schemes, the rate rises from £29 to £75 per annum per scheme and for personal pension schemes, the rate rises from £12 to £30 per annum per scheme.

Regulation 3 makes a consequential revocation.

(1)

1993 c. 49; section 170 was substituted by Article 161 of the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 (S.I. 1995/3213 (N.I. 22)) and amended by paragraph 3 of Schedule 1, paragraph 23 of Schedule 10 and Schedule 11 to the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/255 (N.I. 1)), paragraph 1 of Schedule 1 to the Pensions Regulator Tribunal (Transfer of Functions) Act (Northern Ireland) 2010 (c. 4 (N.I.)), section 12(2) of the Financial Guidance and Claims Act 2018 (c. 10) and paragraph 6 of the Schedule to S.I. 2019/383

(2)

See Article 8(b) of S.R. 1999 No. 481 and section 1(7) of the Departments Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 (c. 5 (N.I.))

(3)

1954 c. 33 (N.I.)

(4)

S.R. 2005 No. 92; relevant amending Regulations are S.R. 2012 No. 98

(5)

The Table was substituted by regulation 2(2) of S.R. 2012 No. 98

(6)

The Table was substituted by regulation 2(3) of S.R. 2012 No. 98

(7)

S.R. 2012 No. 98