The Social Security (Retirement Pensions and Graduated Retirement Benefit) (Widowers and Civil Partnership) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005

Amendment of the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations

3.  In regulation 30 of the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987(1) (payments on death)—

(a) in paragraph (5)(2) (posthumous claims), for “(5F)” there shall be substituted “(5G)”; and

(b) for paragraphs (5A) to (5F)(3) there shall be substituted the following paragraphs—

“(5A) Subject to paragraphs (5B) to (5G), a claim may be made in accordance with paragraph (5) on behalf of the deceased for a Category A or Category B retirement pension or graduated retirement benefit provided that the deceased was not married or in a civil partnership on the date of his death.

(5B) Subject to paragraphs (5C) to (5G), a claim may be made in accordance with paragraph (5) on behalf of the deceased for a Category A or Category B retirement pension or graduated retirement benefit where the deceased was a married woman or a civil partner on the date of death if the deceased’s widower or surviving civil partner was under pensionable age on that date and due to attain pensionable age before 6th April 2010.

(5C) Where a claim is made for a shared additional pension under paragraph (5) or for a retirement pension or graduated retirement benefit under paragraphs (5) and (5A) or (5B), in determining the benefit to which the deceased would have been entitled if he had claimed within the prescribed time, the prescribed time shall be the period of 3 months ending on the date of his death and beginning with any day on which, apart from satisfying the condition of making a claim, he would have been entitled to the pension or benefit.

(5D) Paragraph (5E) applies where, throughout the period of 12 months ending with the day before the death of the deceased person, his entitlement to a Category A or a Category B retirement pension, shared additional pension or graduated retirement benefit was deferred in accordance with, as the case may be—

(a) section 55 of the Contributions and Benefits Act(4) (pension increase or lump sum where entitlement to retirement pension is deferred);

(b) section 55C of that Act(5) (pension increase or lump sum where entitlement to shared additional pension is deferred); or

(c) section 35(4A) of the National Insurance Act (Northern Ireland) 1966(6) (deferment of graduated retirement benefit).

(5E) Where a person claims under paragraph (5) or under paragraphs (5) and (5A) or (5B), the deceased shall be treated as having made an election in accordance with, as the case may be—

(a) paragraph A1(1)(a) of Schedule 5 to the Contributions and Benefits Act(7) (election to have an increase of pension) where paragraph (5D)(a) applies;

(b) paragraph 1(1)(a) of Schedule 5A to that Act(8) (election to have an increase of a shared additional pension) where paragraph (5D)(b) applies; or

(c) paragraph 12(1)(a) of Schedule 1 to the Social Security (Graduated Retirement Benefit) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005 (election to have an increase of benefit) where paragraph (5D)(c) applies.

(5F) Paragraph (5G) applies where—

(a) the deceased person was a widow, widower or surviving civil partner (“W”) who was married to, or in a civil partnership with, the other party to the marriage or civil partnership (“S”) when S died;

(b) throughout the period of 12 months ending with the day before S’s death, S’s entitlement to a Category A or a Category B retirement pension or graduated retirement benefit was deferred in accordance with, as the case may be, paragraph (5D)(a) or (c); and

(c) W made no statutory election in consequence of the deferral.

(5G) Where a person claims under paragraphs (5) and (5A) the deceased (“W”) shall be treated as having made an election in accordance with, as the case may be—

(a) paragraph 3C(2)(a) of Schedule 5 to the Contributions and Benefits Act(9) (election to have an increase of pension), where paragraph (5D)(a) applies; or

(b) paragraph 17(2)(a) of Schedule 1 to the Social Security (Graduated Retirement Benefit) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005 (election to have an increase in benefit), where paragraph (5D)(c) applies.”.

(1)

S.R. 1987 No. 465; relevant amending Regulations are S.R. 1988 No.369, S.R. 1990 No. 398, S.R. 1992 No. 7, S.R. 1996 No. 354, S.R. 2003 No. 191 and S.R. 2005 No. 122

(2)

Paragraph (5) was amended by regulation 3(6) of S.R. 1988 No. 369, regulation 7(5)(a) of S.R. 1990 No. 398, regulation 15 of S.R. 1992 No. 7, regulation 2(15) of S.R. 1996 No. 354, regulation 10 of S.R. 2003 No. 191 and regulation 2(4)(a) of S.R. 2005 No. 122

(3)

Paragraphs (5A) to (5F) were inserted by regulation 2(4)(b) of S.R. 2005 No. 122

(4)

Section 55 was substituted by Article 273(1) of the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 2005 and amended by paragraph 4 of the Schedule to S.R. 2005 No. 434

(5)

Section 55C was substituted by Article 273(2) of the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 2005

(6)

Subsection (4A) was substituted by regulation 2(2)(a) of S.R. 2005 No. 121

(7)

Paragraph A1 was inserted by paragraph 3 of Schedule 9 to the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 2005 and amended by paragraph 6(a) of S.R. 2005 No. 434

(8)

Schedule 5A was inserted by paragraph 14 of Schedule 9 to the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 2005

(9)

Paragraph 3C was inserted by paragraph 8 of Schedule 9 to the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 2005