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

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.