EXPLANATORY NOTE
(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations amend the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 2005 (“the 2005 Order”), the Pension Protection Fund (Review and Reconsideration of Reviewable Matters) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005 (“the Review Regulations”), the Pension Protection Fund (Compensation) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005 (“the Compensation Regulations”) and the Pension Protection Fund (General and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006 (“the General Regulations”).
Regulation 2 amends the 2005 Order. Where interest is charged on the late payment of a pension protection levy, the Board of the Pension Protection Fund (“the Board”) may waive the interest. This regulation provides that decisions on waiving interest may be challenged by way of review, reconsideration and appeal to the Pension Protection Fund Ombudsman.
Regulation 3 amends the Review Regulations to specify the persons who may challenge the Board’s decisions on waiving interest.
Regulation 4 amends the Compensation Regulations. Paragraph (2) amends regulation 2 to change the circumstances in which Pension Protection Fund compensation can be paid early. It raises the minimum age from which a person can become entitled to early payments, reduces the information a person has to provide to the Board and enables the Board to make early payments more quickly. Paragraph (4) inserts regulations 24 and 25 to provide for modifications to provisions in Schedule 6 to the 2005 Order in relation to career average revalued earnings schemes or schemes where part of pension entitlement is determined on a career average revalued earnings basis. (Paragraph (3) makes consequential amendments to regulation 23.)
Regulation 5 amends the General Regulations to make provision for interest to be charged where there is late payment of a pension protection levy. In particular, it sets out when interest arises, the rate of interest, how interest is calculated and the circumstances in which the Board can waive interest.
The Pensions (2008 No. 2 Act) (Commencement No. 4) Order (Northern Ireland) 2010 (S.R. 2010 No. 50 (C. 2)) provides for the coming into operation of paragraph 4 of Schedule 9 to the Pensions (No. 2) Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 (c. 13 (N.I.)), which inserts Article 164A into the 2005 Order, one of the enabling provisions under which these Regulations are made, on 26th February 2010.
As these Regulations make in relation to Northern Ireland only provision corresponding to provision contained in regulations made by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in relation to Great Britain, the requirement to consult under Article 289(1) of the 2005 Order does not apply by virtue of paragraph (2)(e) of that Article.