The Occupational Pension Schemes (Climate Change Governance and Reporting) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2021

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations impose requirements on trustees of certain occupational pension schemes, including trustees of authorised master trust schemes and trustees of schemes authorised to provide collective money purchase benefits, with a view to ensuring that there is effective governance of those schemes with respect to the effects of climate change. They also impose associated reporting and publication requirements on the trustees.

Part 1 contains general provisions.

Part 2 contains provisions about the requirements relating to governance, reporting and publication of the effects of climate change on a scheme and which trustees are subject to the requirements.

Regulations 3, 4 and 5 specify which trustees are subject to the requirements relating to governance contained in Part 1 of the Schedule.

Regulation 3 applies to trustees of certain trust schemes which are not master trust schemes or schemes providing collective money purchase benefits, and which were not formerly authorised as such. Regulation 3(1) to (3) provides for the requirements to be introduced on a phased basis from 1st October 2021 according to the value of relevant assets of the scheme at the end of a particular scheme year. Regulation 3(5) specifies the circumstances in which the requirements will cease to apply. Regulation 3(4) specifies the circumstances in which the requirements will subsequently re-apply.

Regulations 4 and 5 make provision in relation to trustees of authorised master trust schemes and trustees of authorised schemes providing collective money purchase benefits, respectively. They also make provision for trustees of schemes which subsequently cease to be authorised.

Regulation 6 specifies the reporting and publication requirements and which trustees are subject to those requirements. Part 2 of the Schedule sets out the information to be contained in a report required to be produced and published under regulation 6.

Part 3 contains provisions relating to compliance with requirements imposed by these Regulations.

The Pension Schemes Act 2021 (Commencement No. 1) Order (Northern Ireland) 2021 (S.R. 2021 No. 240 (C. 8)) provides for the coming into operation of paragraph 12(2) of Schedule 11 to the Pension Schemes Act 2021, which inserts Articles 41A, 41B and 41C into the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1995, some of the enabling provisions under which these Regulations are made, on 1st September 2021.

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 117(1) of the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 does not apply by virtue of paragraph (2)(e) of that Article.

An assessment of the cost to business of these Regulations is detailed in a Regulatory Impact Assessment, a copy of which has been laid in the Business Office and the Library of the Northern Ireland Assembly. Copies of the Assessment are available from the Department for Communities, Social Security Policy, Legislation and Decision Making Services, Level 6, Causeway Exchange, 1-7 Bedford Street, Belfast BT2 7EG or from the website: https://www.communities-ni.gov.uk/articles/pension-information. A copy of the Assessment is also annexed to the Explanatory Memorandum which is available alongside this Statutory Rule on the website: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisr.