The Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1995

Miscellaneous N.I.

Monitoring personal pension schemes N.I.

144.  After section 29 of the Pension Schemes Act insert—

“Appropriate schemes: “Blowing the whistle”.

29A.— (1) If any person acting as an auditor or actuary of an appropriate scheme has reasonable cause to believe that—

(a) any requirement which, in the case of the scheme, is required by section 5(5)(a) to be satisfied is not satisfied, and

(b) the failure to satisfy the requirement is likely to be of material significance in the exercise by the Department of any of its functions relating to appropriate schemes,

that person must immediately give a written report of the matter to the Department.

(2) No duty to which a person acting as auditor or actuary of an appropriate scheme is subject shall be regarded as contravened merely because of any information or opinion contained in a written report under this section.”.

Earner employed in more than one employment N.I.

145.—(1) Paragraph 1 of Schedule 1 to the Contributions and Benefits Act (Class 1 contributions where earner in more than one employment) is amended as follows.

(2) For sub-paragraph (3) substitute—

“(3) The amount of the primary Class 1 contribution shall be the aggregate of the amounts determined under the following paragraphs (applying earlier paragraphs before later ones)—

(a) if the aggregated earnings are paid to or for the benefit of an earner in respect of whom minimum contributions are payable under section 39(1) of the Pensions Act (contributions to personal pension schemes), the amount obtained by applying the rate of primary Class 1 contributions that would apply if all the aggregated earnings were attributable to employments which are not contracted-out to such part of the aggregated earnings so attributable as does not exceed the current upper earnings limit (referred to in this paragraph as “the APPS earnings”);

(b) if some of the aggregated earnings are attributable to COMPS service, the amount obtained by applying the rate of primary Class 1 contributions that would apply if all the aggregated earnings were attributable to COMPS service—

(i) to such part of the aggregated earnings attributable to COMPS service as does not exceed the current upper earnings limit; or

(ii) if paragraph (a) applies, to such part of the earnings attributable to COMPS service as, when added to the APPS earnings, does not exceed the current upper earnings limit;

(c) if some of the aggregated earnings are attributable to COSRS service, the amount obtained by applying the rate of primary Class 1 contributions that would apply if all the aggregated earnings were attributable to COSRS service—

(i) to such part of the aggregated earnings attributable to COSRS service as does not exceed the current upper earnings limit; or

(ii) if paragraph (a) or (b) applies, to such part of the earnings attributable to COSRS service as, when added to the APPS earnings or the part attributable to COMPS service (or both), does not exceed the current upper earnings limit;

(d) the amount obtained by applying the rate of primary Class 1 contributions that would apply if all the aggregated earnings were attributable to employments which are not contracted-out to such part of the aggregated earnings as, when added to the part or parts attributable to COMPS or COSRS service, does not exceed the current upper earnings limit.” .

(3) For sub-paragraph (6) substitute—

“(6) The amount of the secondary Class 1 contribution shall be the aggregate of the amounts determined under the following paragraphs (applying earlier paragraphs before later ones)—

(a) if the aggregated earnings are paid to or for the benefit of an earner in respect of whom minimum contributions are payable under section 39(1) of the Pensions Act, the amount obtained by applying the rate of secondary Class 1 contributions that would apply if all the aggregated earnings were attributable to employments which are not contracted-out to the APPS earnings;

(b) if some of the aggregated earnings are attributable to COMPS service, the amount obtained by applying the rate of secondary Class 1 contributions that would apply if all the aggregated earnings were attributable to COMPS service to the part of the aggregated earnings attributable to such service;

(c) if some of the aggregated earnings are attributable to COSRS service, the amount obtained by applying the rate of secondary Class 1 contributions that would apply if all the aggregated earnings were attributable to COSRS service to the part of the aggregated earnings attributable to such service;

(d) the amount obtained by applying the rate of secondary Class 1 contributions that would apply if all the aggregated earnings were attributable to employments which are not contracted-out to the remainder of the aggregated earnings.” .

(4) At the end of that paragraph add—

“(9) In this paragraph—

“COMPS service” means service in employment in respect of which minimum payments are made to a money purchase contracted-out scheme;

“COSRS service” means service in employment which qualifies the earner for a pension provided by a salary related contracted-out scheme.” .

(5) Until the principal appointed day, that paragraph, as amended by this Article, shall have effect as if—

(a) for sub-paragraph (3)(b) there were substituted—

“(b) if some of the aggregated earnings are attributable to service in contracted-out employment, the amount obtained by applying the rate of primary Class 1 contributions that would apply if all the aggregated earnings were attributable to such service—

(i) to such part of the aggregated earnings attributable to such service as does not exceed the current upper earnings limit, or

(ii) if paragraph (a) applies, to such part of the earnings attributable to such service as, when added to the APPS earnings, does not exceed the current upper earnings limit;,”

(b) sub-paragraph (3)(c) were omitted,

(c) in sub-paragraph (3)(d), for “COMPS or COSRS service” there were substituted “service in contracted-out employment”,

(d) for sub-paragraph (6)(b) there were substituted—

“(b) if some of the aggregated earnings are attributable to service in contracted-out employment, the amount obtained by applying the rate on secondary Class 1 contributions that would apply if all the aggregated earnings were attributable to such service to the part of the aggregated earnings attributable to such service;” ,

(e) sub-paragraph (6)(c) were omitted, and

(f) in sub-paragraph (9) the definitions of “COMPS service” and “COSRS service” were omitted.

Hybrid occupational pension schemes N.I.

146.—(1) In spite of anything in sections 5 and 8 of the Pension Schemes Act (requirements for certification and determination of basis on which scheme is contracted-out), the Department may by regulations provide, where the pensions provided by an occupational pension scheme include both—

(a) such pensions that, if the scheme provided only those pensions, it would satisfy section 5(2) of that Act, and

(b) such other pensions that, if the scheme provided only those other pensions, it would satisfy section 5(3) of that Act,

for Part III of that Act to have effect as if the scheme were two separate schemes providing, respectively, the pensions referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b).

(2) Regulations made by the Department may, in connection with any provision made by virtue of paragraph (1), make such modifications of the following enactments, and the instruments made or having effect as if made under them, as appear to the Department desirable—

• the Contributions and Benefits Act,

• the Pension Schemes Act, and

• Part II.

Art. 147—Amendments