The Social Security, Occupational Pension Schemes and Statutory Payments (Consequential Provisions) Regulations 2007

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations make provision in relation to social security benefits which is consequent upon the making of regulations under section 4B of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 (c. 4) and the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 (c.7). Those sections were inserted by sections 1 and 2 respectively of the National Insurance Contributions Act 2006.

Authority for the retrospective provision made by these Regulations is contained in section 4C(4) of each of the 1992 Acts (also inserted by sections 1 and 2 of the 2006 Act).

Regulation 1 provides for the citation, commencement and effect of these Regulations.

Regulations 2 to 7 make amendments to the Occupational Pension Schemes (Contracting-out) Regulations 1996, (S.I. 1996/1172).

Regulation 2 amends the Social Security (Crediting and Treatment of Contributions, and National Insurance Numbers) Regulations 2001 (S.I. 2001/769), adding a new definition of “the due date” where contributions are charged by retrospective contributions regulations, and adding a new regulation 5A which treats retrospective contributions paid by that date as paid at the time when the earnings to which they relate were actually paid.

Regulation 3 amends the Occupational Pension Schemes (Contracting-out) Regulations 1996, (S.I. 1996/1172), to provide for the recovery by an employer of an employee’s additional pension contribution in respect of retrospective earnings and for the payment by an employer to the trustees of an occupational scheme of additional employer’s contributions on those earnings.

Regulations 4 to 7 amend the Statutory Maternity Pay (General) Regulations 1986 (S.I. 1986/1960), the Statutory Sick Pay (General) Regulations 1982 (S.I 1982/894), the Statutory Paternity Pay and Statutory Adoption Pay (General) Regulations 2002 (S.I 2002/2822), and the Social Security (Maternity Allowance) (Earnings) Regulations 2000 (S.I. 2000/688). In each case the effect is to provide for retrospective earnings to be taken into account in computing an employee’s entitlement to relevant earnings-related benefit.

Regulations 8 to 13 make provision corresponding to regulations 2 to 7 but in relation to Northern Ireland.

Regulation 14 provides for the modification of any reference to earnings, in relation to times before retrospective contributions regulations are made and to which those regulations relate so that they are to be treated as references to the amounts of earnings re-computed in line with the regulations, and for the consequent redetermination of any matter which is referable to the amount of the employee’s earnings.

These Regulations do not impose significant additional burdens or costs on employers unless they engage in contrived schemes to avoid income tax and National Insurance contributions on remuneration paid to their employees. Employers who do not engage in such activity will be unaffected.