The Civil Partnership (Contracted-out Occupational and Appropriate Personal Pension Schemes) (Surviving Civil Partners) Order (Northern Ireland) 2005

PART 10

Amendment of the Occupational Pension Schemes (Discharge of Liability) Regulations

38.  The Occupational Pension Schemes (Discharge of Liability) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997(1) are amended in accordance with paragraphs 39 to 45.

39.  In regulation 1 (citation, commencement and interpretation), after paragraph (1) there shall be inserted the following paragraph—

“(1A) For the purposes of these Regulations, two people of the same sex are to be regarded as living together as if they were civil partners if, but only if, they would be regarded as living together as husband and wife were they instead two people of the opposite sex.”.

40.  In regulation 3(a) (conditions on which policies of insurance and annuity contracts may be assigned or surrendered) for “widow or widower” there shall be substituted “widow, widower or surviving civil partner”.

41.  In regulation 4 (conditions on which policies of insurance and annuity contracts may be commuted)—

(a) in paragraph (1)(a)(i) for “or widower” there shall be substituted “, widower or surviving civil partner”, and

(b) in paragraph (2) for “widow’s or widower's” there shall be substituted “widow's, widower’s or surviving civil partner's”.

42.  In regulation 6 (further conditions on which liability may be discharged)—

(a) in paragraph (2)(a) for “or widower” there shall be substituted “, widower or surviving civil partner”, and

(b) in paragraph (5) for “widow or widower”, in each place where it occurs, there shall be substituted “widow, widower or surviving civil partner”.

43.  In regulation 9(2) (circumstances in which liability to provide pensions under a relevant scheme may be discharged) for “widow or widower, or if there is no such widow or widower” there shall be substituted “widow, widower or surviving civil partner or, if there is no such person”.

44.  In regulation 11 (conditions on which liability to provide pensions under a relevant scheme may be discharged)—

(a) in paragraph (3)(2)—

(i) in sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) for “widow or widower” there shall be substituted “widow, widower or surviving civil partner”;

(ii) in sub-paragraph (b) omit “and (c)”;

(b) for paragraph (4) there shall be substituted the following paragraph—

“(4) Subject to paragraph (7), the circumstances referred to in paragraph (3) are—

(a) the beneficiary marries or forms a civil partnership after having received benefits under the policy or contract;

(b) the widow, widower or surviving civil partner of the beneficiary—

(i) remarries or, as the case may be, marries;

(ii) forms a civil partnership or, as the case may be, forms a subsequent civil partnership;

(iii) lives together as husband and wife with another person to whom he or she is not married;

(iv) lives together with a person of the same sex as if they were civil partners, or

(v) at the time of the beneficiary’s death—

(a) is living together as husband and wife with another person to whom he or she is not married, or

(b) is living together with a person of the same sex as if they were civil partners.”;

(c) after paragraph (6), there shall be added the following paragraph—

“(7) Paragraph (4)(b)(ii), (iv) and (v)(b) does not apply where the beneficiary dies before 5th December 2005.”.

45.  In Schedule 1 (form of consent to arrangement for securing benefit) after “widower”, in each place where it occurs, there shall be inserted “/surviving civil partner”.

(1)

S.R. 1997 No. 159; relevant amending regulations are S.R. 2005 No. 170

(2)

Paragraph (3) was amended by regulation 13(a) of S.R. 2005 No. 170