(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations further amend the Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (General Levy) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005 (“the 2005 Regulations”).
Regulation 2 amends regulations 5 and 6 of, and inserts a Schedule into, the 2005 Regulations to specify the new figures to be used in calculating the rate at which the general levy is payable for the financial years beginning with 1st April 2021, 1st April 2022 and 1st April 2023. The purpose of the general levy is to meet the expenditure mentioned in section 170(1) of the Pension Schemes (Northern Ireland) Act 1993. Specified occupational and personal pension schemes pay the general levy (see regulation 2 of the 2005 Regulations). The general levy is used to fund the Pensions Regulator and the Pensions Ombudsman and partly to fund the Money and Pensions Service. The effect of the changes is to increase the general levy rates for both occupational and personal pension schemes for those financial years and to introduce separate rates for defined benefit and hybrid, money purchase and Master Trust occupational pension schemes.
Regulation 3 makes a consequential revocation.