The State Pension Credit (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the State Pension Credit Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 (“the 2003 Regulations”) so as to limit savings credit for certain mixed-age couples and to bring forward the date on which certain assessed income periods end.

Under section 3 of the State Pension Credit Act (Northern Ireland) 2002 the savings credit element of state pension credit is only payable to those who have reached pensionable age before 6th April 2016. A person may still qualify if they are a member of a mixed-age couple where the other member reached pensionable age before that date.

Regulation 2(2) inserts new regulation 7A into the 2003 Regulations so that in the case of a person who is a member of a mixed-age couple, entitlement is restricted to where one of the members of the couple was entitled to a savings credit before 6th April 2016 and has remained entitled to it at all times since that date.

Regulation 2(3) amends regulation 12 of the 2003 Regulations to provide that certain assessed income periods will end on the dates set out in column 2 of new Schedule 3A to the 2003 Regulations; that Schedule is inserted by regulation 2(4) of these Regulations.

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 and accordingly, by virtue of section 149(3) of, and paragraph 10 of Schedule 5 to, the Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 (c. 8), are not subject to the requirement of section 149(2) of that Act for prior reference to the Social Security Advisory Committee.