The Pension Schemes Act 2015 (Transitional Provisions and Appropriate Independent Advice) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015

[F1 Requirement to provide risk warnings in relation to safeguarded-flexible benefits N.I.

8A.— (1) In this regulation and regulation 8C—

“risk warning” means a written communication which satisfies the requirements specified in regulation 8C(2) to (5);

“safeguarded-flexible benefits” means benefits within paragraph (c) of the definition of “flexible benefit” in section 74 of the Act;

“subsisting right” and “survivor” have the meanings given in section 76(1) of the Act (interpretation of Part 4).

(2) Subject to paragraph (4), the trustees or managers of a pension scheme must provide a risk warning to a member of the scheme or a survivor of a member in accordance with this regulation if the member or survivor has subsisting rights in respect of safeguarded-flexible benefits under the scheme and—

(a) the member or survivor makes an application or written request, or gives a notice in writing, referred to in regulation 8(2), or

(b) the trustees or managers—

(i) provide a statement of entitlement or a written statement of the amount of the cash equivalent to the member or survivor, or

(ii) communicate their intention or agreement in principle to carry out a relevant transaction requested by the member or survivor, or make an offer of a relevant transaction,

in respect of those safeguarded-flexible benefits.

(3) The trustees or managers must provide any risk warning required by paragraph (2)—

(a) where the member or survivor has made an application or written request or given a notice in writing within paragraph (2)(a), before the expiry of one month beginning with the date of that application, request or notice;

(b) where the trustees or managers provide a statement to the member or survivor within paragraph (2)(b)(i), on or before the day on which that statement is provided;

(c) where the trustees or managers communicate their intention or agreement or make an offer within paragraph (2)(b)(ii), on or before the day on which they provide written confirmation of that intention, agreement or offer to the member or survivor,

and in any event no later than two weeks before the date on which the trustees or managers carry out the relevant transaction in relation to the member’s or survivor’s safeguarded-flexible benefits.

(4) Paragraph (2) does not require the trustees or managers to provide a risk warning (the “current risk warning”) to a member or survivor if the trustees or managers—

(a) have previously provided a risk warning to that member or survivor in relation to safeguarded-flexible benefits in accordance with this regulation, and

(b) would, in the absence of this paragraph, be required to provide the current risk warning in relation to the same safeguarded-flexible benefits before the expiry of 12 months beginning with the date on which the previous risk warning was provided.

(5) Where a trustee or manager of a pension scheme fails without reasonable excuse to comply with any requirement imposed by this regulation, the Pensions Regulator may, by notice in writing, require that trustee or manager to pay, within 28 days, a penalty that must not—

(a) in the case of an individual, exceed £5,000, and

(b) in any other case, exceed £50,000.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Regs. 8A-8C inserted (6.4.2018) by The Pension Schemes Act 2015 (Transitional Provisions and Appropriate Independent Advice) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2018 (S.R. 2018/40), regs. 1, 4