SCHEDULES

SCHEDULE 12STATE PENSION: AMENDMENTS

PART 3AMENDMENTS TO DO WITH STATE PENSION CREDIT

72

The State Pension Credit Act (Northern Ireland) 2002 is amended as follows.

73

In section 3 (savings credit), for subsection (1) substitute—

1

The first of the conditions mentioned in section 1(2)(c)(ii) is that the claimant—

a

has attained pensionable age before 6 April 2016 and has attained the age of 65 (before, on or after that date), or

b

is a member of a couple, the other member of which falls within paragraph (a).

74

After that section insert—

3ZAPower to limit savings credit for certain mixed-age couples

1

Regulations may provide that, in prescribed cases, a person who is a member of a mixed-age couple is not entitled to a savings credit.

2

For example, the regulations could provide that a member of a mixed-age couple is not entitled to a savings credit unless—

a

the person has been awarded a savings credit with effect from a day before 6 April 2016 and was entitled to a savings credit immediately before that date, and

b

the person remained entitled to state pension credit at all times since the beginning of 6 April 2016.

3

In this section “mixed-age couple” means a couple (whenever formed) one member of which had attained pensionable age before 6 April 2016 and the other had not.

75

In Schedule 1 to the Pensions Act (Northern Ireland) 2008, omit paragraph 41.