The Stakeholder Pension Schemes (Amendment No. 2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001

“and—

(a)

regulation 23 shall come into operation on 6th April 2001, and

(b)

Part IV (except regulation 23) shall come into operation on 8th October 2001”.

“(5B)

The scheme instruments must, except to the extent necessary to ensure that the scheme has tax-exemption or tax-approval, permit as means of payment of contributions to the scheme payment from a bank account or building society account by—

(a)

cheque;

(b)

direct debit;

(c)

standing order;

(d)

direct credit (other than standing order),

and (for the avoidance of doubt) for the purposes of this paragraph, those means of payment do not include payment by cash, credit card or debit card (or by any combination thereof).”.

“(4A)

The manager of the scheme, and any person managing funds held for the purposes of the scheme, must, if retaining any investment or investment option for the purposes of the scheme—

(a)

determine at what intervals the circumstances, and in particular the nature of the investment or investment option, make it desirable to obtain and consider in relation to that investment or investment option such advice as is mentioned in paragraph (4), and

(b)

obtain and consider such advice accordingly.”.

“(8)

No person shall be regarded as having complied with—

(a)

paragraph (4) unless the advice to be obtained and considered by him under that paragraph is given or (by the giver of the advice) confirmed in writing;

(b)

paragraph (4A)(a) unless the determination to be made by him under that paragraph is recorded by him in writing;

(c)

paragraph (4A)(b) unless the advice to be obtained and considered by him under that paragraph is given or (by the giver of the advice) confirmed in writing.”.

“(3)

There shall be appointed as reporting accountant for the scheme (“the reporting accountant”), by the trustees or manager of the scheme, a person who is eligible under paragraph (4) for such appointment.”.

“(4)

A person is eligible for appointment as the reporting accountant only if—

(a)

he is not or, in the case of a partnership, no partner or employee of the partnership is a member of the scheme;

(b)

he is not or, in the case of a partnership, neither the partnership nor any partner or employee of the partnership is connected with or an associate of the manager, or any of the trustees, of the scheme;

(c)

he is eligible under Article 28 of the Companies (Northern Ireland) Order 1990 (eligibility for appointment)14 (“the 1990 Order”) for appointment as a company auditor, and

(d)

he is not by virtue of Article 30 of the 1990 Order (ineligibility on ground of lack of independence) ineligible for appointment as company auditor of a company which is an employer in relation to the scheme.”.

“(7A)

Where the reporting accountant is or becomes ineligible, by virtue of not satisfying the conditions in paragraph (4), for his appointment as such—

(a)

he shall not act as the reporting accountant (except if required to do so under paragraph (6), and except as required by his agreement under paragraph (7) and as required by sub-paragraphs (c) and (d));

(b)

anything done for the purposes of these Regulations by him acting as such while ineligible in contravention of sub-paragraph (a) shall by the trustees or manager be taken for those purposes not to have been done;

(c)

he shall resign (with immediate effect) by notice in writing immediately he is or becomes aware, or, as the case may be, should reasonably be or become aware, that he is or has become so ineligible;

(d)

he shall state in that notice—

(i)

that he is resigning by reason of ineligibility, and

(ii)

the ground on which he is or has become so ineligible;

(e)

notwithstanding sub-paragraph (c), if he is still in place when the trustees or manager are or become aware, or should reasonably be or become aware, that he is or has become so ineligible, the trustees or manager shall remove him immediately.”.

“(9)

Where under paragraph (7A) the reporting accountant resigns with immediate effect or is removed, the trustees or manager shall appoint, in accordance with this regulation, another reporting accountant—

(a)

within one month of the date of that resignation or removal, or

(b)

if earlier, as soon as is required in order not to prevent compliance with regulation 12(5) and (6).

(10)

In this regulation references to a person are references to an individual, a body corporate or a partnership.”.

“(2A)

Nothing in paragraph (1) shall be taken to prevent that which is permitted under any of the provisions mentioned in paragraph (4).”.

“(4)

The provisions referred to in paragraph (2A) are—

(a)

section 28 (suspension or forfeiture) and regulation 9 of the Personal and Occupational Pension Schemes (Protected Rights) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 199715 (suspension and forfeiture of payments giving effect to protected rights);

(b)

section 15516 (inalienability of guaranteed minimum pension and protected rights payments);

(c)

Articles 89 to 92 of the 1995 Order17 and regulations under those Articles (inalienability and forfeiture of occupational pensions), and

(d)

in the case of a pension scheme established under a trust which—

(i)

is not an occupational pension scheme, but

(ii)

is or has been registered under Article 4,

Articles 89, 90 and 92 of the 1995 Order and the Occupational Pension Schemes (Assignment, Forfeiture, Bankruptcy etc.) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 199718 (inalienability and forfeiture of occupational pensions) as those Articles and Regulations have effect by virtue of Article 8(3) of, and Schedule 1 to, the Order and of regulation 32.”.

“(5)

Subject to regulation 3(5B), the scheme instruments may permit restrictions on the means of payment of contributions to the scheme.

(6)

The scheme instruments of an occupational pension scheme may permit the trustees or manager to refuse to accept, in respect of any member of the scheme who is not an active member of the scheme, any contribution by or on behalf of, or in respect of, that member.

(7)

For the purposes of paragraph (6), “active member” has the meaning given by Article 121 of the 1995 Order.”.

“(2A)

Where the trustees or manager of the scheme in relation to which the request is made inform the employer that they will refuse, in accordance with regulation 17, to accept payment—

(a)

of a contribution to which the request relates, the employer need not comply with the request so far as the request relates to that contribution;

(b)

of contributions of a particular type, the employer need not comply with the request so far as the request relates to a contribution of that particular type.

(2B)

Where the employer, on a ground mentioned in paragraph (2A), does not comply with the request, he must give notice to the employee in writing—

(a)

that, and of the extent to which, he is not complying with the request;

(b)

that the reason he is not complying with the request to that extent is that—

(i)

the trustees or manager have informed the employer that they will refuse, in accordance with regulation 17, to accept payment of a contribution to which the request relates or of contributions of a particular type, and

(ii)

the employer is permitted by these Regulations not to comply with the request so far as the request relates to that contribution or to a contribution of that particular type;

(c)

where the trustees or manager cite to the employer the ground of refusal in regulation 17 on which they will rely to refuse that contribution or contributions of that particular type, informing him that the trustees or manager have cited that ground of refusal in relation to that contribution or to contributions of that particular type, and

(d)

informing him that—

(i)

he may require the employer to cease such deductions (if deductions are being made at the time of the request) but, if the employee makes such a request, the employer is not required to comply with any further request to make such deductions if that further request is made within 6 months of the employee requesting that the deductions cease, and

(ii)

the employee may make payments, (subject to the trustees or manager refusing to accept them as permitted under these Regulations) at a rate of his choosing, directly to the qualifying scheme.”.

“(3)

Where an employee requests an employer to cease to make deductions from the employee’s remuneration on account of contributions to a qualifying scheme, the employer must—

(a)

comply with that request as soon as possible, but no later than the end of—

(i)

the pay period following that in which that request is made, or

(ii)

where that request relates to a pay period later than the one following that in which that request is made, that later pay period, and

(b)

give notice to the employee in writing—

(i)

that the employer is not required to comply with any further request to make such deductions if that further request is made within 6 months of the employee requesting that the deductions cease, and

(ii)

that the employee may make payments, (subject to the trustees or manager refusing to accept them as permitted under these Regulations) at a rate of his choosing, directly to the qualifying scheme.”.

“(6)

Any notice to be given under any of paragraphs (2), (2B) and (3) must be given prior to the end of—

(a)

the pay period following that in which the request to which the notice relates is made, or

(b)

where that request relates to a pay period later than the one following that in which that request is made, that later pay period.

(7)

In this regulation and in regulation 25 references, in relation to an employer, to an employee are references to a relevant employee of that employer where that relevant employee is a member of a qualifying scheme.”.

“The Occupational Pension Schemes (Requirement to obtain Audited Accounts and a Statement from the Auditor) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 199721

The whole of the Regulations except regulations 2(1)(b) and 4 of, and paragraph 5 of the Schedule to, the Regulations.”.