The Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1995

Appointment and powers of independent trustees: further provisions

25.—(1) If, immediately before the appointment of an independent trustee under Article 23(1)(b), there is no trustee of the scheme other than the employer, the employer shall cease to be a trustee upon the appointment of the independent trustee.

(2) While Article 22 applies in relation to a scheme—

(a) any power vested in the trustees of the scheme and exercisable at their discretion may be exercised only by the independent trustee, and

(b) any power—

(i) which the scheme confers on the employer (otherwise than as trustee of the scheme), and

(ii) which is exercisable by him at his discretion but only as trustee of the power,

may be exercised only by the independent trustee,

but if, in either case, there is more than one independent trustee, the power may also by exercised with the consent of at least half of those trustees by any person who could exercise it apart from this paragraph.

(3) While Article 22 applies in relation to a scheme, no independent trustee of the scheme may be removed from being a trustee by virtue only of any provision of the scheme.

(4) If a trustee appointed under Article 23(1)(b) ceases to be an independent person, then—

(a) he must immediately give written notice of that fact to the practitioner or official receiver by whom the duties under that provision fall to be discharged, and

(b) subject to paragraph (5), he shall cease to be a trustee of the scheme.

(5) If, in a case where paragraph (4) applies, there is no other trustee of the scheme than the former independent trustee, he shall not cease by virtue of that paragraph to be a trustee until such time as another trustee is appointed.

(6) A trustee appointed under Article 23(1)(b) is entitled to be paid out of the scheme’s resources his reasonable fees for acting in that capacity and any expenses reasonably incurred by him in doing so, and to be so paid in priority to all other claims falling to be met out of the scheme’s resources.