The Pensions Dashboards Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2023

PART 1 General

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Pensions Dashboards Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2023 and shall come into operation on 10th June 2023.

Interpretation

2.  Schedule 1 contains definitions of terms used in these Regulations.

Application

3.—(1) Part 2 applies—

(a) to a pensions dashboard service(1), other than a pensions dashboard service referred to in section 4A(1) of the Financial Guidance and Claims Act 2018(2) (specific functions included in the pensions guidance function), and

(b) to a provider of a pensions dashboard service to which Part 2 applies by virtue of sub-paragraph (a).

(2) Subject to paragraph (4), Parts 3 and 4 apply to a trustee or manager of a relevant occupational pension scheme(3)—

(a) where the scheme existed on the reference date and had 100 or more relevant members on that date;

(b) where the scheme existed on the reference date and had fewer than 100 relevant members on that date, but has 100 or more relevant members on any subsequent date, or

(c) where the scheme was established after the reference date and had 100 or more relevant members on the date it was established, or has 100 or more relevant members on any subsequent date.

(3) These Regulations remain applicable to a relevant occupational pension scheme where they apply by virtue of paragraph (2)(a), (b) or (c), even if the number of relevant members falls below 100, unless the number of relevant members falls to zero.

(4) Parts 3 and 4 do not apply to a trustee or manager of a relevant occupational pension scheme—

(a) if the pension scheme has its main administration outside of Northern Ireland;

(b) if the pension scheme is a scheme which is not registrable with the Regulator, other than a public service pension scheme which is not registrable with the Regulator (in which case Parts 3 and 4 do apply), or

(c) if the pension scheme is a public service pension scheme which is registrable but which relates to persons referred to in regulation 3 of the Civil Service (Other Crown Servants) Pension Scheme Regulations 2016(4) (establishment of scheme and eligibility).

(5) Subject to paragraph (4), Parts 3 and 4 also apply to a trustee or manager of a relevant occupational pension scheme which has fewer than 100 relevant members but which is permitted to connect on a voluntary basis under regulation 16(1)(b).

Dashboards Available Point

4.—(1) Qualifying pensions dashboard services(5) are to be available for use by the general public from the Dashboards Available Point.

(2) Prior to the Dashboards Available Point, pensions dashboard services are only available for use by individuals who are invited by or on behalf of the Money and Pensions Service to use pensions dashboard services to support testing or service improvements.

(3) In this regulation, “Dashboards Available Point” means the date specified in accordance with regulation 4(1) of the Pensions Dashboards Regulations 2022(6).

Oversight of standards

5.  Standards published from time to time by the Money and Pensions Service or by the Regulator or by the Financial Conduct Authority count as standards for the purposes of these Regulations only if—

(a) where standards are published for the first time, they have been approved by the Department;

(b) where standards have been published before (having been approved by the Department) and are being published again in amended form—

(i) they have been approved by the Department, or

(ii) they only contain amendments that in the view of the Money and Pensions Service involve minor technical changes.

(1)

See Article 215A(1) of the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 2005 for the meaning of “pensions dashboard service”

(2)

2018 c. 10; section 4A was inserted by section 122 of the Pension Schemes Act 2021 and relates to the pensions dashboard service provided by the Money and Pensions Service (see regulation 2 of S.I. 2019/383 which named the “single financial guidance body” established by section 1(1) of the Financial Guidance and Claims Act 2018 the “Money and Pensions Service”)

(3)

See Article 215F(3) of the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 2005 (as inserted by paragraph 3 of Schedule 9 to the Pension Schemes Act 2021) for the definition of “relevant occupational pension scheme”

(4)

S.I. 2016/326; regulation 3 was substituted by regulation 5 of S.I. 2019/906

(5)

See Article 215A(2) of the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 2005 for the definition of “qualifying pensions dashboard service”

(6)

S.I. 2022/1220