The Stakeholder Pension Schemes Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000

Requirements applying to all stakeholder pension schemes as regards instruments establishing such schemes

3.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the instruments establishing a stakeholder pension scheme (the “scheme instruments”) must prohibit the acceptance of contributions, transfer payments and pension credits to the scheme before 6th April 2001.

(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to a scheme in respect of which an application for registration under Article 4 (registration of stakeholder pension schemes) is first made on or after 6th April 2001.

(3) The scheme instruments must require that no member is required to make any choice as regards the investment under the scheme of any payment made to it by him or on his behalf, any amount credited to the member’s account in respect of a credit within the meaning of Article 26 (pension sharing: creation of pension debits and credits), or any income or capital gain arising from the investment of such a payment or credit.

(4) The scheme instruments must, except to the extent permitted under regulations 13 and 14 prohibit the use of—

(a) any payment made to the scheme by or on behalf of a member;

(b) any amount credited to a member’s account in respect of a credit within the meaning of Article 26;

(c) any income or capital gain arising from the investment of such a payment or credit, or

(d) the value of his rights under the scheme,

in any way which does not result in the provision of benefits for, or in respect of, the member.

(5) The scheme instruments must require that—

(a) if the scheme ceases to be registered under Article 4 the winding up of the scheme be commenced on the date on which it is notified in writing by the Authority that it is no longer so registered;

(b) if the trustees or manager fix a time for winding up a scheme for any reason other than because the scheme ceases to be registered under Article 4, the winding up of the scheme be commenced at the earliest time fixed by the trustees or manager as the time from which steps for the purposes of winding up are to be taken;

(c) within 2 weeks of the date of commencement of any winding up, the trustees or manager notify in writing any employers whom they know to have designated the scheme for the purposes of Article 5 (duty of employers to facilitate access to stakeholder pension schemes) of the fact of, and the reason for, the winding up including, where the scheme has ceased to be registered under Article 4, the reason for the cessation of registration;

(d) any contributions made to a scheme after the date of commencement of any winding up must be repaid—

(i) to the member, to the extent of his contributions, and

(ii) as to the remainder, to his employer;

(e) subject to paragraphs (8) and (9), on any winding up all rights under the scheme be discharged by the trustees or manager of the scheme within 12 months of the commencement of winding up or, as soon thereafter as is practicable, by the making of transfer payments—

(i) to other stakeholder pension schemes, or schemes registered under section 2 of the 1999 Act, or

(ii) in accordance with requests by one or more members or beneficiaries in respect of their rights, to the trustees or managers of pension schemes or pension arrangements which are not schemes mentioned in head (i),

in accordance with paragraphs (6) and (7) and regulation 6 or, where regulation 7 applies, with regulation 7, and

(f) if the scheme fails to complete winding up within 12 months of commencing winding up proceedings, the trustees or manager notify the Authority of that fact within one month of so failing to complete the winding up.

(6) A transfer payment referred to in paragraph (5)(e) must be of an amount not less than the cash equivalent of the member’s rights under the scheme, as calculated and verified in a manner consistent with regulations made under section 93(1) (calculation of cash equivalents) on the date on which the payment is made.

(7) Where the member’s rights include any protected rights within the meaning of section 6(2) (protected rights and money purchase benefits), the scheme must provide for any transfer payments to be made subject to the requirements of section 24(3) (ways of giving effect to protected rights).

(8) Paragraph (5)(e) does not apply to rights to which effect is given under the scheme by the payment of an annuity (not being a deferred annuity) or a lump sum either to the member or, on or after his death, to another person.

(9) For the purposes of paragraph (8) a deferred annuity is an annuity under the terms of which payment does not commence immediately but at a time in the future.

(1)

Section 93 was amended by paragraph 6 of Schedule 4 to the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1995

(2)

Section 6 was amended by paragraph 18 of Schedule 3 to the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 and paragraph 39 of Schedule 1 to the Social Security Contributions (Transfer of Functions, etc.) (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 and is amended by Article 29(2) of the Welfare Reform and Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1999

(3)

Section 24 was amended by Articles 139 and 143(2) of, and paragraph 27 of Schedule 3 to, the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1995