The Personal Pension Schemes (Payments by Employers) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000

Statutory Rules of Northern Ireland

2000 No. 349

PENSIONS

The Personal Pension Schemes (Payments by Employers) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000

Made

17th November 2000

Coming into operation

6th April 2001

The Department for Social Development, in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 107A(4)(b) to (7) and (15)(b), 109(1) and (3),177(2) to (4) and 178(1) of the Pension Schemes (Northern Ireland) Act 1993(1), and now vested in it(2), and of all other powers enabling it in that behalf, hereby makes the following Regulations:

Citation, commencement and interpretation N.I.

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Personal Pension Schemes (Payments by Employers) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000 and shall come into operation on 6th April 2001.

(2) In these Regulations—

“scheme” means a personal pension scheme;

“stakeholder pension scheme” has the meaning given by Article 3 of the Welfare Reform and Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1999(3) (meaning of “stakeholder pension scheme”);

“statement year” has the meaning given by regulation 18(3) of the Stakeholder Pension Schemes Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000(4) (disclosure of information to members);

“trustees or managers”, in relation to a scheme, means—

(a)

in the case of a scheme established under a trust, the trustees of the scheme, and

(b)

in any other case, the managers of the scheme.

(3) Subject to paragraphs (4) and (5), the Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954(5) shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to an Act of the Assembly.

(4) For the purposes of these Regulations and notwithstanding section 39(2) of the Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954, where a period of time is expressed to begin on, or to be reckoned from, a particular day, that day shall be included in the period.

F1 (5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(6) In these Regulations any reference to a numbered section is a reference to the section of the Pension Schemes (Northern Ireland) Act 1993 bearing that number.

Textual Amendments

F1 Reg. 1(5) revoked (6.4.2014) by The Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (DisclosureofInformation) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2014 (S.R. 2014/79), regs. 1(1), 32, Sch. 10

Commencement Information

I1 Reg. 1 in operation at 6.4.2001, see reg. 1(1)

Record of direct payment arrangements N.I.

F2 2.  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Textual Amendments

F2 Regs. 2-4 revoked (6.4.2006) by The Occupational Pension Schemes (Administration and Audited Accounts) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005 (S.R. 2005/421), reg. 1(1)(c), Sch.

Prescribed time in which an employer is to make a record of direct payment arrangements available to trustees or managers N.I.

F2 3.  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Textual Amendments

F2 Regs. 2-4 revoked (6.4.2006) by The Occupational Pension Schemes (Administration and Audited Accounts) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005 (S.R. 2005/421), reg. 1(1)(c), Sch.

Time limits for giving notice to the Regulatory Authority and to the employee that any contribution which is payable has not been paid and the circumstances in which such notice need not be given N.I.

F2 4.  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Textual Amendments

F2 Regs. 2-4 revoked (6.4.2006) by The Occupational Pension Schemes (Administration and Audited Accounts) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005 (S.R. 2005/421), reg. 1(1)(c), Sch.

[F3 Prescribed period for the purpose of calculating the due date for the payment of any contribution on behalf of an employee N.I.

5.— (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the prescribed period for the purposes of section 107A(15)(b) (meaning of “due date” where a contribution payable under the direct payment arrangements falls to be paid on behalf of the employee) is the period of—

(a) where the contribution payable under the direct payment arrangements is paid to the trustees or managers of the scheme by means of an electronic communication, 22 days, or

(b) in any other case, 19 days,

commencing on the day following the last day of the month in which the deduction was made from the employee’s earnings.

[F4 (2) Where an employee becomes an active member of a relevant scheme, in relation to contributions deducted in the relevant period, the prescribed period for the purposes of section 107A(15)(b) is the period commencing on the day on which the first deduction in the relevant period is made and ending—

(a) where the contribution is paid to the trustees or managers of the scheme by means of electronic communication, on the 22nd day of the month following the last day of the relevant period, or

(b) in any other case, on the 19th day of the month following the last day of the relevant period.

(3) For the purposes of this regulation—

“the 2008 Act” means the Pensions (No. 2) Act (Northern Ireland) 2008;

“electronic communication” has the same meaning as in section 4(1) of the Electronic Communications Act (Northern Ireland) 2001;

“relevant period” means a period of 3 months commencing on the date from which active membership is effective;

“relevant scheme” means—

(a)

a scheme which is a qualifying scheme in relation to the person under section 16 of the 2008 Act, or

(b)

where the person is enrolled in the scheme pursuant to section 9 of the 2008 Act, a scheme which meets the requirements of that section.]]

Textual Amendments

F3 Reg. 5 substituted (1.7.2012) by The Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Automatic Enrolment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010 (S.R. 2010/122), regs. 1(1), 49 (as amended by The Automatic Enrolment (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012 (S.R. 2012/232), regs. 1(1)(c), 2(24))

F4 Reg. 5(2)(3) substituted (1.11.2013) by The Automatic Enrolment (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2013 (S.R. 2013/243), regs. 1(1)(a), 3

[F5 The issue of payment statements to an employee N.I.

5A.— (1) Where section 107A (monitoring of employers' payments to personal pension schemes) applies the trustees or managers of the scheme must before the end of the interval specified in paragraph (4) or (5), as the case may be, send the employee a statement setting out the amounts and dates of the payments made under the direct payment arrangements during the period specified in paragraph (2) or (3), as the case may be.

(2) Where the scheme is not a stakeholder pension scheme the period is, in the case of—

(a) the first statement referred to in paragraph (1), the period of not more than 12 months beginning with the date the employee joined the scheme and ending with the date of the last payment which appears on that statement, and

(b) the second or any subsequent statement (“the relevant statement”), a period of not more than 12 months beginning with the day following the date of the last payment which appeared on the statement immediately preceding the relevant statement.

(3) Where the scheme is a stakeholder pension scheme the period is the period which is the statement year in relation to that scheme.

(4) Where the scheme is not a stakeholder pension scheme the interval is, in the case of—

(a) the first statement referred to in paragraph (1), the period of 12 months beginning with the date the employee joined the scheme;

(b) the second statement, the period of 12 months beginning with the next anniversary of the date the employee joined the scheme following the date the trustees or managers sent the employee the first statement, and

(c) the third or any subsequent statement, the period of 12 months beginning with the anniversary of the date the employee joined the scheme.

(5) Where the scheme is a stakeholder pension scheme the interval is three months after the end of the statement year to which that statement relates.

[F6 (6) A statement referred to in paragraph (1) may be issued in accordance with regulations 26 to 28 of the Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Disclosure of Information) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2014 (giving information and documents).]]

Textual Amendments

F5 Reg. 5A inserted (6.4.2006) by The Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006 (S.R. 2006/141), regs. 1(b), 6

F6 Reg. 5A(6) added (6.4.2014) by The Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (DisclosureofInformation) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2014 (S.R. 2014/79), reg. 1(1), Sch. 9 para. 10

The issue of payment statements to an employee N.I.

F7 6.  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Textual Amendments

F7 Reg. 6 revoked (6.4.2006) by The Occupational Pension Schemes (Administration and Audited Accounts) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005 (S.R. 2005/421), reg. 1(1)(c), Sch.

Revocation N.I.

7.  Regulation 5A of the Personal Pension Schemes (Disclosure of Information) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987(6) is hereby revoked.

Commencement Information

I2 Reg. 7 in operation at 6.4.2001, see reg. 1(1)

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department for Social Development on 17th November 2000.

L.S.

John O'Neill

Senior Officer of the

Department for Social Development

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations make provision concerning the monitoring of employers' payments to personal pension schemes under section 107A of the Pension Schemes (Northern Ireland) Act 1993.

Regulation 1 provides for citation, commencement and interpretation.

Regulation 2 sets out the prescribed requirements for the contents of the record of direct payment arrangements.

Regulation 3 specifies the period within which the employer must send a copy of the record of direct payment arrangements to the trustees or managers of the scheme.

Regulation 4 specifies the time limits within which the trustees or managers of the scheme must give notice to the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority and to the employee that any contribution which is payable by the employer under the direct payment arrangements has not been paid and the circumstances in which such notice need not be given.

Regulation 5 specifies the period to be used for the purpose of calculating the due date for the payment by the employer of any contribution paid on behalf of an employee.

Regulation 6 provides for the period which a payment statement sent to an employee by the trustees or managers of a scheme must cover, and the frequency with which such statements must be sent to the employee.

Regulation 7 revokes regulation 5A of the Personal Pension Schemes (Disclosure of Information) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987.

Section 107A(4)(b) to (7) and 15(b) of the Pension Schemes (Northern Ireland) Act 1993, one of the enabling provisions under which these Regulations are made, is inserted by Article 10 of the Welfare Reform and Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 (“the 1999 Order”).

The Welfare Reform and Pensions (1999 Order) (Commencement No. 6 and Transitional and Savings Provisions) Order (Northern Ireland) 2000 (S.R. 2000 No. 332 (C. 14)) provides for the coming into operation of Article 10 of the 1999 Order, in so far as it is not already in operation, on 6th April 2001.

(1)

1993 c. 49; section 107A is inserted by Article 10 of the Welfare Reform and Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 (S.I. 1999/3147 (N.I. 11)) and section 178(1) was amended by Parts III and IV of Schedule 5 to the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 (S.I. 1995/3213 (N.I. 22))

(2)

See Article 8(b) of S.R. 1999 No. 481

(3)

S.I. 1999/3147 (N.I. 11)

(4)

S.R. 2000 No. 262

(5)

1954 c. 33 (N.I.)

(6)

S.R. 1987 No. 288; regulation 5A was inserted by S.R. 1995 No. 441