The Pensions Dashboards Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2023

2.—(1) For members with benefits that are not money purchase benefits other than cash balance benefits, trustees or managers of the pension scheme must provide the following value data—

(a) for active members—

(i) an accrued value calculated in accordance with the scheme’s rules and valued to the illustration date, as if the individual has reached their retirement date on the illustration date and without regard to possible increases in earnings;

(ii) a projected value calculated in accordance with the scheme’s rules and without regard to possible increases in earnings, that would be payable from the date benefits are payable if pensionable service were to end on the member reaching their retirement date;

(b) for deferred members—

(i) an accrued value calculated in accordance with the scheme’s rules and valued to the illustration date and as if the individual has reached their retirement date on the illustration date, or

(ii) a simplified accrued value (“the alternative accrued value”), calculated using a method of adjustment which trustees or managers consider to be appropriate (such as using inflation figures or other percentages from the most recent version of the Occupational Pensions (Revaluation) Order (Northern Ireland)(1)) and valued to the illustration date and as if the individual has reached their retirement date on the illustration date, where each of the following conditions applies—

(aa) no more than 2 years has passed since the scheme connected to the Money and Pensions Service;

(bb) a value in accordance with sub-head (i) could not be provided within the timescales referred to in regulation 26(5)(b)(ii) without disproportionate cost and within a reasonable time;

(cc) trustees or managers are content that the alternative accrued value is an appropriate representation of the value of the benefits.

(2) In respect of sub-paragraph (1)—

(a) value data may be provided as an income or a fixed lump sum or both (where a fixed lump sum is the actuarial value of a benefit which is designed to be taken as a lump sum);

(b) value data requirements apply—

(i) in the case of a Chapter 1 scheme, from whichever of the following occurs sooner—

(aa) the date when the scheme issues a Remediable Service Statement within the meaning of section 29 of the 2022 Act to relevant members, or

(bb) 1st April 2025;

(ii) in the case of a public service pension scheme whose members work for the judiciary, from whichever of the following occurs sooner—

(aa) the date when the scheme issues an Information Statement within the meaning of section 64 of the 2022 Act to relevant members, or

(bb) 1stApril 2025 (even if an Information Statement has not been issued);

(iii) in the case of a local government scheme within the meaning of section 86(1) of the 2022 Act, from 1st April 2025;

(iv) in the case of parliamentary pension schemes, from 1st April 2025;

(c) value data may be provided on a voluntary basis sooner than it is required to be provided in under head (b).

(3) In relation to Chapter 1 schemes, trustees or managers must provide 2 alternatives in respect of the values referred to in sub-paragraph (1)(a) and (b), to reflect the differing benefits that a member of the scheme may receive in respect of the period from 1st April 2015 to 31st March 2022—

(a) if any election under section 10 of the 2022 Act (deferred choice to receive new scheme benefits) that could be made in relation to the member’s remediable service were not made, or

(b) if any election under section 10 of the 2022 Act that could be made in relation to the member’s remediable service were made.

(4) In respect of a pension scheme which provides benefits that are not money purchase benefits, in circumstances where a benefit under the scheme is comprised of tranches (meaning different elements which could be paid from different retirement dates, or for different periods of time, or at different rates), trustees or managers must do the following in respect of the values referred to in sub-paragraph (1)—

(a) they must provide whichever of the following they consider would provide the best representation of the benefit—

(i) a combined value covering all the tranches of benefit, along with a single common retirement date, or

(ii) a separate set of values for different combinations of tranches of benefits, along with a retirement date in relation to each;

(b) they must provide a message, in accordance with data standards published from time to time by the Money and Pensions Service, explaining the circumstances in which a benefit referred to may cease or reduce from a certain age.

(5) In this paragraph—

“the 2022 Act” means the Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Act 2022(2);

“Chapter 1 scheme” means a public service pension scheme other than a scheme for the judiciary or for local government workers.

(1)

For example, seeS.R. 2022 No. 300

(2)

2022 c. 7