The Social Security Pensions (Low Earnings Threshold) Order (Northern Ireland) 2002

Made21st February 2002

Coming into operation6th April 2002

Whereas the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has made an Order1 under section 148A of the Social Security Administration Act 19922:

Now, therefore, the Department for Social Development, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 130A of the Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 19923 and of all other powers enabling it in that behalf, hereby makes the following Order:

Citation and commencement1.

This Order may be cited as the Social Security Pensions (Low Earnings Threshold) Order (Northern Ireland) 2002 and shall come into operation on 6th April 2002.

Low earnings threshold2.

It is hereby directed that, for the purposes of the Contributions and Benefits Act, the low earnings threshold4 for the tax years following the tax year 2001-2002 shall be £10,800.

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department for Social Development on 21st February 2002.

John O'Neill

Senior Officer of the

Department for Social Development

(This note is not part of the Order.)

This Order, which corresponds to an Order (S.I. 2002/36) made by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions under section 148A of the Social Security Administration Act 1992, directs that the low earnings threshold, for the purposes of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992, for the tax years following 2001-2002 shall be £10,800. The low earnings threshold is used for the purposes of calculating entitlement to the additional pension (the state second pension) in a state retirement pension.

Section 130A of the Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 1992, the enabling provision under which this Order is made, was inserted by section 32 of the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act (Northern Ireland) 2000 which was brought into operation on 1st February 2001, in so far as not already in operation, by virtue of Article 2(b) of the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security (2000 Act) (Commencement No. 4) Order (Northern Ireland) 2001 (S.R. 2001 No. 34 (C.1)).