The Occupational Pension Schemes (Contracting-out) (Amount Required for Restoring State Scheme Rights and Miscellaneous Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Occupational Pension Schemes (Contracting-out) (Amount Required for Restoring State Scheme Rights and Miscellaneous Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998 and shall come into operation on 6th July 1998.

(2) In these Regulations—

“the Act” means the Pension Schemes (Northern Ireland) Act 1993;

“additional pension” means the additional pension in a Category A retirement pension or in any other benefit under Part II of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992(1) which is payable by virtue of section 44(3)(b) of that Act;

“earner” means—

(a)

in the case of a surviving spouse member, the deceased spouse from whose employment that member’s rights under the scheme are derived, and

(b)

in any other case, the member;

“effective date” means the date on which the Department determines, for the purposes of paragraph 5(3A) to (3E) of Schedule 1 to the Act(2), the extent to which the resources of the scheme are insufficient to meet the liability for the cash equivalent of the member’s rights under the scheme;

“the Order” means the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1995(3);

“pensionable age” has the meaning given by the rules in paragraph 1 of Schedule 2 to the Order;

“relevant employment” means any employment of the earner to which any of his section 5(2B) rights, rights to a guaranteed minimum pension or protected rights under the scheme are directly or indirectly attributable;

“relevant tax year” means the tax year in which the effective date falls;

“section 5(2B) rights” has the same meaning as in regulation 1(2) of the Occupational Pension Schemes (Contracting-out) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996(4);

“scheme” means an occupational pension scheme referred to in regulation 2;

“surviving spouse member” means a person who has a right to the payment of a widow’s or widower’s pension under the scheme.

(3) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954(5) shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to a Measure of the Assembly.

(1)

1992 c. 7

(2)

Paragraph 5(3A) to (3E) was inserted by Article 138(2)(b) of the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1995

(3)

S.I. 1995/3213 (N.I. 22)

(4)

S.R. 1996 No. 493; regulation 1(2) was amended by paragraph 5(2) of the Schedule to S.R. 1997 No. 160

(5)

1954 c. 33 (N.I.)