(This note is not part of the Rules)
To fulfil their duties under Part 1 of the Pensions (No. 2) Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 (“employers' duties”), employers are able to use a range of pension scheme types each of which has to satisfy certain quality requirements. Section 24 of that Act provides that a hybrid scheme will satisfy the quality requirements if it satisfies the requirements of subsection (1)(a) or (b) whichever is appropriate (“the paragraph (a) quality requirements” and “the paragraph (b) quality requirements”). Hybrid schemes are schemes which are composed of both money purchase and defined benefits elements.
These Rules set out how to determine whether the paragraph (a) quality requirements or the paragraph (b) quality requirements apply to a scheme or part of a scheme as appropriate.
An assessment of the impact of the employers' duties is included in the Regulatory Impact Assessment which accompanied the Pensions (No. 2) Act (Northern Ireland) 2008, a copy of which has been laid in the Business Office and the Library of the Northern Ireland Assembly. Copies of that Assessment are available from the Department for Social Development, Social Security Policy and Legislation Division, Level 1, James House, 2-4 Cromac Avenue, Gasworks Business Park, Ormeau Road, Belfast BT7 2JA or from the website: http://www.dsdni.gov.uk/index/ssa/ssani-publications/ssani-pensions-publications.htm.