The Pension Sharing (Safeguarded Rights) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000

Insurance companies that may provide safeguarded rights by way of annuities

8.—(1) A money purchase contracted-out scheme or an appropriate scheme may only discharge its liability in respect of safeguarded rights in accordance with regulation 6(4) if the annuity is provided by an insurance company which satisfies the conditions set out in paragraphs (2) to (4).

(2) The insurance company must be—

(a) authorised under section 3 or 4 of the Insurance Companies Act 1982(1) (authorisation of insurance business) to carry on long term business (within the meaning of section 1 of that Act(2) (classification));

(b) in the case of a friendly society, authorised under section 32 of the Friendly Societies Act 1992(3) (grant of authorisation by Commission: general) to carry out long term business under any of the Classes specified in Head A of Schedule 2 to that Act (the activities of a friendly society: long term business), or

(c) an EC company as defined in section 2(6) of the Insurance Companies Act 1982(4) (restriction on carrying on insurance business), which—

(i) carries on ordinary long-term insurance business (within the meaning of section 96(1) of that Act(5)) in the United Kingdom through a branch in respect of which such of the requirements of Part I of Schedule 2F to that Act(6) (recognition in the United Kingdom of EC and EFTA companies: EC companies carrying on business etc. in the United Kingdom) as are applicable have been complied with, or

(ii) provides ordinary long-term insurance in the United Kingdom and such of the requirements of Part I of Schedule 2F to that Act as are applicable have been complied with in respect of insurance.

(3) The insurance company must offer annuities, with a view to purchase of those annuities by money purchase contracted-out schemes or appropriate schemes in order to give effect to the safeguarded rights of their members, without having regard to the sex of the members either in making the offers or in determining the rates at which the annuities are paid.

(4) Where the annuities are issued by a friendly society as described in paragraph (2)(b), the insurance company must provide that the terms of the annuities are not capable of being amended, revoked or rescinded.

(1)

1982 c. 50

(2)

Section 1 was amended by S.I. 1990/1159

(3)

1992 c. 40; section 32(4) was substituted by regulation 4 of S.I. 1994/1984

(4)

Section 2(6) was inserted by regulation 4(2) of S.I. 1994/1696

(5)

There are amendments to this section which are not relevant to these Regulations

(6)

Schedule 2F was inserted by regulation 45 of S.I. 1994/1696