The Occupational Pension Schemes (Contracting-out) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996

Notifications to the Department

44.—(1) Whenever an earner’s service in contracted-out employment is treated as terminated under regulation 43, the employer of that earner in that service shall, except where the termination is due to the death of the earner or occurs on a date later than the end of the tax year preceding that in which he attains pensionable age, or where the amount of a contributions equivalent premium in respect of that service would not exceed £17, notify the Department of that termination.

(2) A notification required to be given under paragraph (1) may be given at any time within the period of one month before the expected date of termination but if not so given shall be given within 6 months from the date on which the service terminated or, if the Department is satisfied that the notification could not reasonably have been given within that period, such longer period as it may approve in a particular case or class of case.

(3) A notification required to be given under paragraph (1) shall be given in writing in such form as the Department may direct and shall contain such information as the Department may reasonably require for calculating guaranteed minimum pensions (including those to which persons are treated as entitled under section 44(2) of the Act(1)), any entitlements arising in respect of section 5(2B) rights and contributions equivalent premiums and for related purposes.

(4) In any case where a person transfers his responsibility for, or makes a transfer payment in respect of, a guaranteed minimum pension or any section 5(2B) rights to another person, the first person shall, within 5 weeks from the date of the transfer or transfer payment, notify the Department of its occurrence, giving such particulars as the Department may reasonably require to enable it to identify the second person.

(5) Except in a case to which paragraph (6) applies, within 5 weeks after effect has been given to protected rights of a member of the scheme, the trustees of that scheme shall notify the Department in writing that effect has been given to those rights, giving such particulars as the Department may reasonably require to enable it—

(a) to identify the means by which effect has been given to them;

(b) where effect has been given to them by means of a pension, annuity or lump sum, to identify the recipient of it;

(c) where effect has been given to them by means of an annuity, to identify the insurance company responsible for paying the annuity;

(d) where effect has been given to them by means of a transfer payment, to identify the personal or occupational pension scheme to which the transfer payment was made, and

(e) where effect has been given to them by means of an appropriate policy of insurance under section 28A(1) of the Act (discharge of protected rights on winding up: insurance policies), to identify the member in respect of whom, and the insurance company with which, that policy was taken out or entered into.

(6) Where the member is a married woman or widow, and effect has been given to her protected rights at a time when an election is operative that her liability in respect of primary Class 1 contributions shall be a liability to contribute at a reduced rate, paragraph (5) shall not apply.

(7) An employer to whom a contracting-out certificate has been issued or the trustees of the scheme to which the certificate relates shall, if required to do so by the Department, in such manner and at such times as the Department may reasonably require, furnish to the Department such information relating to members of that scheme to which the contracting-out certificate relates as it may reasonably require for the purpose of calculating guaranteed minimum pensions (including those to which persons are treated as entitled under section 44(2) of the Act), any entitlement arising in respect of section 5(2B) rights and in order to know for what, if any, protected rights the scheme is responsible, and from what minimum contributions, minimum payments or transfer payments they derive, and for related purposes.

(1)

Section 44(2) was amended by paragraph 56 of Schedule 1 to the Social Security (Incapacity for Work) (Northern Ireland) Order 1994 (S.I. 1994/1898 (N.I. 12)) and Article 137(2) of the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1995; see also Article 137(3) of that Order