Pensions Act (Northern Ireland) 2015

7.—(1) Section 4 (meaning of “contracted-out employment”, “guaranteed minimum pension” and “minimum payment”) is amended as follows.

(2) For subsection (1) substitute—

“(1) In relation to any period before the second abolition date, the employment of an earner in employed earner’s employment was “contracted-out employment” in relation to the earner during that period if—

(a) the earner was under pensionable age;

(b) the earner’s service in the employment was service which qualified the earner for a pension provided by a salary related contracted-out scheme; and

(c) there was in force a contracting-out certificate issued in accordance with this Chapter (as it then had effect) stating that the employment was contracted-out employment by reference to the scheme.”.

(3) After subsection (1A) insert—

“(1B) In the following provisions of this Act “earner”, in relation to a scheme, means a person who was an earner in contracted-out employment by reference to the scheme.”.

(4) In subsection (2), in the definition of “guaranteed minimum pension”, for “by an occupational pension scheme” substitute “, by a scheme that was a salary related contracted-out scheme,”.

(5) For subsection (4) substitute—

“(4) A contracting-out certificate that was in force in respect of an employed earner’s employment is to be taken as conclusive that the employment was, at that time, contracted-out employment.”.