These Regulations may be cited as the Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Automatic Enrolment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010 and shall come into operation on 1st October 2012.

In these Regulations—

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

• “the 1993 Act” means the Pension Schemes (Northern Ireland) Act 1993;

• “the 1995 Order” means the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1995;

• “applicable pay reference period” means—

  1. a

     a period of one week, or

  2. b

     in the case of a jobholder who is paid their regular wage or salary by reference to a period longer than a week, that period;

• “automatic enrolment date” has the meaning given by section 3(7);

• “automatic re-enrolment date” means the date determined in accordance with regulation 12;

• “enrolment date” means the date determined in accordance with regulation 18(6);

• “enrolment information” has the meaning given by regulation 2;

• “jobholder information” has the meaning given by regulation 3;

• “joining notice” means a notice given under section 9(2);

• “opt in” means the jobholder’s right under section 7(3) by notice to require the employer to arrange for the jobholder to become an active member of an automatic enrolment scheme;

• “opt in notice” means a notice given under section 7(3);

• “opt out” means the jobholder’s right to give notice under section 8;

• “opt out notice” means a notice in the form set out in the Schedule;

• “opt out period” means the period determined in accordance with regulation 9(2) or (3);

• “staging date” means the date on which sections 2 to 8 first apply in relation to the employer.

The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 19545 shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to an Act of the Assembly.

Without prejudice to any other method of service of documents, any document under these Regulations may be sent by ordinary post.

In these Regulations any reference to a numbered section is a reference to the section of the Act bearing that number.