The Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Automatic Enrolment) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2016

Amendment of regulation 32M of the Automatic Enrolment Regulations

5.—(1) Regulation 32M (alternative quality requirements: UK defined benefits schemes)(1) of the Automatic Enrolment Regulations is amended as follows.

(2) In paragraph (3), after “(4)” insert “, (5A)”.

(3) At the beginning of paragraph (4), insert “Subject to paragraph (5A),”.

(4) After paragraph (5), insert—

“(5A) Subject to paragraph (5C), where the conditions in paragraph (5B) are met, the employer of the jobholder may choose, notwithstanding paragraph (4), that the relevant members are the members of the scheme who were active members and in contracted-out employment on the effective date of the most recent written report from an actuary.

(5B) The conditions to be met for the purposes of paragraph (5A) are—

(a) the jobholder was in contracted-out employment on 5th April 2016; and

(b) the rules of the scheme of which the jobholder is a member have not been amended, on or after the coming into force of these Regulations, in any way which would mean that the rules of the scheme would not satisfy the contracting-out requirements if those requirements were still in force.

(5C) Paragraph (5A) applies until the earliest of—

(a) the date the first written report determining whether there is, or was, a material difference in the cost of providing the benefits accruing for different groups of relevant members over the relevant period, taking into account the criteria mentioned in paragraph (4), is signed by an actuary after 5th April 2016;

(b) 5th April 2019.

(5D) For the purposes of paragraph (5A), the effective date of the most recent written report is the date by reference to which the information in that report is stated.”.

(5) In paragraph (6), for “paragraph (4)” substitute “paragraphs (4) and (5A)”.

(6) In paragraph (9)—

(a) after “they are” insert “equal to or more than”;

(b) for sub-paragraph (b) substitute—

“(b) basic pay;”;

(c) in sub-paragraph (c), omit the words from the beginning to “that member’s”; and

(d) for sub-paragraph (d) substitute—

“(d) earnings; or”.

(7) In paragraph (12), after the definition of “basic pay” insert—

““contracted-out employment” has the meaning given in section 8(1) of the 1993 Act (meaning of “contracted-out employment”)(2);

“contracting-out requirements” means the requirements set out in section 9 of the 1993 Act (requirements for certification of schemes: general)(3) as they had effect immediately before 6th April 2016;”.

(1)

Regulation 32M was inserted by S.I. 2015/501.

(2)

Section 8(1) was substituted by section 24(1) of, and paragraph 7 of Schedule 13 to, the Pensions Act 2014 (c. 19).

(3)

Section 9 was amended by section 136(3) of, and paragraph 21 of Schedule 5 to, the Pensions Act 1995 (c. 26), paragraph 35 of Schedule 1 to the Social Security Contributions (Transfer of Functions, etc) Act 1999 (c. 2), section 283 of the Pensions Act 2004 (c. 35), section 14(4) of, and paragraph 4 of Schedule 4 and Part 6 of Schedule 7 to, the Pensions Act 2007 (c.22) and S.I. 2006/745. It has been repealed by paragraph 9 of Schedule 13 to the Pensions Act 2014 (c. 19) from 6th April 2016.