Pension Schemes Act (Northern Ireland) 2021

Fit and proper persons requirement

7.—(1) This section applies for the purposes of enabling the Regulator to decide whether it is satisfied that the persons involved in a Master Trust scheme are fit and proper persons (see section 5(3)(a)).

(2) The Regulator must assess whether each of the following is a fit and proper person to act in relation to the scheme in the capacity mentioned—

(a) a person who establishes the scheme;

(b) a trustee;

(c) a person who (alone or with others) has power to appoint or remove a trustee;

(d) a person who (alone or with others) has power to vary the terms of the trust under which the scheme is established (where the scheme is established under a trust);

(e) a person who (alone or with others) has power to vary the scheme (where the scheme is not established under a trust);

(f) a scheme funder;

(g) a scheme strategist;

(h) a person acting in a capacity specified in regulations made by the Department.

(3) The Regulator may also assess whether each of the following is a fit and proper person to act in relation to the scheme in the capacity mentioned—

(a) a person who promotes or markets the scheme;

(b) a person acting in a capacity specified in regulations made by the Department.

(4) In assessing whether a person is a fit and proper person to act in a particular capacity, the Regulator—

(a) must take into account any matters specified in regulations made by the Department, and

(b) may take into account such other matters as it considers appropriate (including, in particular, matters relating to a person connected with that person).

(5) For the purposes of this section, a person (“A”) is connected with another person (“B”) if—

(a) A is an associate of B;

(b) where B is a company, A is a director or shadow director of B or an associate of a director or shadow director of B;

(c) A is a trustee of an occupational pension scheme established under a trust and—

(i) the beneficiaries of the trust include B or an associate of B, or

(ii) the terms of the trust confer a power that may be exercised for the benefit of B or an associate of B.

(6) In this section—

“associate” has the meaning given by Article 4 of the Insolvency (Northern Ireland) Order 1989;

“director” and “shadow director” have the meanings given by Article 5 of that Order.

(7) The first regulations that are made under subsection (4) are subject to the confirmatory procedure.

(8) Any subsequent regulations under subsection (4), and regulations under subsections (2) and (3), are subject to negative resolution.