The Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (General Levy) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (General Levy) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005 and shall come into operation on 1st April 2005.

(2) In these Regulations –

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

“the Order” means the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 2005(1);

“the 1997 Regulations” means the Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Levy) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997(2);

“employer”, in relation to an occupational pension scheme, means the employer of persons in the description of employment to which the scheme relates;

“the general levy” means the levy imposed under section 170 of the Act by regulation 2(1) or (2);

“managers” has the meaning given by Article 2(2) of the Order;

“member” –

(a)

in relation to an occupational pension scheme, has the meaning given by Article 121(1) of the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1995(3); and

(b)

in relation to a personal pension scheme, means a member of the scheme, including a member who has pension credit rights under the scheme,

but does not include a person the only entitlement in respect of whom is to benefits payable on his death;

“pension credit rights” has the meaning given by section 97B of the Act(4);

“the reference day” has the meaning given in regulation 4;

“registrable scheme” has the meaning given by Article 55(5) of the Order and regulations made under that Article, and “registrable occupational pension scheme” and “registrable personal pension scheme” are to be construed accordingly;

“the Regulatory Authority” means the Pensions Regulator;

“scheme year”, in relation to a scheme, means –

(a)

a year specified for the purpose of the scheme in any document comprising the scheme or, if there is none, a period of 12 months beginning on 1st April or on such other date as the trustees select; or

(b)

such other period (if any) exceeding 6 months but not exceeding 18 months as is selected by the trustees –

(i)

in connection with the commencement or termination of the scheme, or

(ii)

in connection with a variation of the date on which the year or period referred to in paragraph (a) is to begin;

“trustees”, in the case of a scheme which is not set up under a trust, means the managers of the scheme;

“unallocated assets”, in relation to a scheme, means any assets of the scheme which have not been specifically allocated for the provision of benefits to or in respect of members (whether generally or individually).

(3) These Regulations do not apply to any scheme which is a Republic of Ireland scheme within the meaning of the Occupational Pension Schemes (Republic of Ireland Schemes Exemption) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000(5).

(4) Subject to paragraph (5), the Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954(6) shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to an Act of the Assembly.

(5) For the purposes of these Regulations, notwithstanding section 39(2) of the Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954, where a period of time is expressed to begin on, or to be reckoned from, a particular day, that day shall be included in the period.

(1)

S.I. 2005/255 (N.I. 1)

(2)

S.R. 1997 No. 142; relevant amending regulations are S.R. 1998 No. 85

(3)

S.I. 1995/3213 (N.I. 22); the definition of “member” was amended by paragraph 50(2) of Schedule 9 to the Welfare Reform and Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 (S.I. 1999/3147 (N.I. 11))

(4)

Section 97B was inserted by Article 34 of the Welfare Reform and Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1999

(5)

S.R. 2000 No. 382

(6)

1954 c. 33 (N.I.)