PART 3N.I.BENEFITS FOR PRACTITIONERS ETC.

CHAPTER 5N.I.DEATH BENEFTS

Lump sum death benefitsN.I.

Payment of lump sums [F1or pensions] on deathN.I.

214.—(1) A lump sum payable under regulation 209 [F2or a pension payable under regulation 213A] must be paid in accordance with this regulation.

(2) The lump sum [F3or pension] must be paid to the member's personal representatives, except so far as it is payable to a different person [F4or body under paragraph (4), (6) or (10)] .

(3) A member may give notice to the Department—

(a)specifying—

(i)the member's personal representatives,

(ii)one or more other individuals, or

(iii)one incorporated or unincorporated body,

to whom the lump sum [F5or pension] is to be paid, and

(b)where two or more individuals are specified, specifying the percentage of the payment payable to each of them.

(4) If the member—

(a)has given notice under paragraph (3) specifying a person, and

(b)has not revoked that notice,

the lump sum [F6or pension] (or, as the case may be, the percentage of it specified in respect of the person) may be paid to the person, unless paragraph (5) or (7) applies.

(5) This paragraph applies if—

(a)the person specified in the notice has died before the payment can be made, or

(b)payment to that person is not, in the opinion of the Department, reasonably practicable.

(6) If the member—

(a)leaves a surviving adult dependant, and

(b)has not given notice under paragraph (3) or has revoked any notice so given,

the lump sum [F7or pension] may be paid to that person unless paragraph (7) applies.

(7) This paragraph applies if the person to whom the lump sum [F8or pension] (or a specified percentage of the lump sum [F8or pension] ) would otherwise be payable has been convicted of an offence specified in regulation 254(2) (forfeiture of rights to benefit) and the Department has directed, as a consequence of that conviction, that the person's right to a payment in respect of the member's death is forfeited.

(8) A notice under paragraph (3)—

(a)must be given in writing, and

(b)may be revoked at any time by a further notice in writing.

(9) The Department may pay the lump sum to any person claiming to be the member's personal representative or otherwise to fall within paragraph (3)(a), without requiring proof that the person is such a person concerned, if the lump sum does not exceed—

(a)£5,000, or

(b)any higher amount specified in an order made under section 6(1) of the Administration of Estates (Small Payments) (Northern Ireland) Act 1967 M1 as the amount to be treated as substituted for references to £500 in section 1 of that Act.

[F9(10) The member’s personal representatives may, as part of the distribution of the member’s estate, give irrevocable notice to the Department—

(a)specifying—

(i)one or more individuals, or

(ii)one incorporated or unincorporated body,

to whom the benefit of the pension under regulation 213A from the date of receipt of the notice by the Department is to be assigned; and

(b)where two or more individuals are specified, specifying the percentage of the pension payable to each of them,

and the pension (or, as the case may be, the percentage of it specified in respect of the person) may be paid to the person or body, unless paragraph (11) applies.

(11) This paragraph applies if—

(a)the person specified in the notice has died before the payment can be made;

(b)payment to that person or body is not, in the opinion of the Department, reasonably practicable; or

(c)the person to whom the pension (or a specified percentage of the pension) would otherwise be payable has been convicted of an offence specified in regulation 254 (4) (Forfeiture of rights to benefit) and the Department has directed, as a consequence of that conviction, that the person’s right to a payment in respect of the member’s death is forfeited.

(12) The prohibition on assignment of benefits in regulation 259 (Prohibition on assignment or charging of benefits) shall not apply to an assignment by personal representatives under this regulation.]

[F10(13) In the case of a 2008 Section Optant, this regulation is subject to regulation 260L.]

[F11(14) In the case of a Waiting Period Joiner, this regulation is subject to regulation 260Y.]

Textual Amendments

Marginal Citations