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PART IISOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS AND PENSIONS

Rates or amounts of certain pensions or allowances under the Contributions and Benefits Act

4.—(1) The sums specified in paragraphs (2) to (5) shall be increased from and including the respective dates specified in Article 6.

(2) The sums falling to be calculated under paragraph 13(4) of Schedule 7 to the Contributions and Benefits Act (calculation of weekly rate of a beneficiary’s retirement allowance) shall be increased by 3·1 per cent. of their amount apart from this Order.

(3) In section 44(4) of the Contributions and Benefits Act(1) (basic pension of Category A retirement pension) –

(a)for “£71·15” there shall be substituted “£73·35”; and

(b)for “£79·60” there shall be substituted “£82·05”.

(4) It is hereby directed that the sums which are –

(a)the additional pensions in long-term benefits calculated by reference to any final relevant year earlier than the tax year 2004-05 shall be increased by 3·1 per cent. of their amount apart from this Order;

(b)the increases in the rates of retirement pensions under Schedule 5 to the Contributions and Benefits Act(2) (increase of pension where entitlement is deferred) shall be increased by 3·1 per cent. of their amount apart from this Order; and

(c)payable to a pensioner as part of his Category A or Category B retirement pension by virtue of an order made under section 120 of the Social Security (Northern Ireland) Act 1975(3), Article 64 of the Social Security (Northern Ireland) Order 1986(4) or section 132 of the Administration Act shall be increased by 3·1 per cent. of their amount apart from this Order.

(5) The sums which are shared additional pensions under section 55A of the Contributions and Benefits Act(5), and the sums which are increases in the rates of such pensions under section 55C of that Act, shall in each case be increased by 3·1 per cent. of their amount apart from this Order.

(1)

Section 44(4) was substituted by Article 64 of the Social Security (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 (S.I. 1998/1506 (N.I. 10))

(2)

Schedule 5 was amended by paragraph 36 of Schedule 7 to the Pension Schemes (Northern Ireland) Act 1993, paragraph 40 of Schedule 1 to the Social Security (Incapacity for Work) (Northern Ireland) Order 1994 (S.I. 1994/1898 (N.I. 12)), paragraph 18(12) to (18) of Schedule 2 to the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 (S.I. 1995/3213 (N.I. 22)) and section 35(1) of the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act (Northern Ireland) 2000 (c. 4 (N.I.))

(3)

1975 c. 15; section 120 was repealed by Schedule 1 to the Social Security (Consequential Provisions) (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 (c. 9)

(4)

S.I. 1986/1888 (N.I. 18); Article 64 was repealed by Schedule 1 to the Social Security (Consequential Provisions) (Northern Ireland) Act 1992

(5)

Sections 55A and 55C were inserted by paragraph 3 of Schedule 6 to the Welfare Reform and Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1999; section 55A was amended by section 37(3) of the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act (Northern Ireland) 2000