C4C5C6C7Part II Contributory Benefits
Pt. II (ss. 20-62): power to apply conferred (1.7.1992) by Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 (c. 8), ss. 161, 168(4), Sch. 6 para. 1(3)(a).
Pt. II: power to amend or modify conferred (1.12.1999) by S.I. 1999/3147 (N.I. 11), art. 49(2)(3)
Pt. II modified (temp. from 1.12.1999 to 5.10.2002) by S.I. 1999/3147 (N.I. 11), art. 49(7)(a) (the temp. modification lapsing on the coming into operation of S.R. 2001/441, which modifies specified provisions of Pt. II, on 6.10.2002)
Preliminary
20 Descriptions of contributory benefits.
1
Contributory benefits under this Part of this Act are of the following descriptions, namely—
F1a
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
F2b
incapacity benefit, comprising—
i
short-term incapacity benefit; and
ii
long-term incapacity benefit;
d
maternity allowance F56... ;
e
widow’s benefit, comprising—
F3i
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ii
widowed mother’s allowanceF39...;
iii
widow’s pension;
F4ea
bereavement benefits, comprising—
i
bereavement payment;
ii
widowed parent’s allowanceF39...;
iii
bereavement allowance;
f
retirement pensions of the following categories—
i
Category A, payable to a person by virtue of his own contributions (with increase for adult F40... dependants); and
F6fa
shared additional pensions;
g
for existing beneficiaries only, child’s special allowance.
2
In this Act—
“long-term benefit” means—
- a
F7long-term incapacity benefit;
- b
a widowed mother’s allowance;
- a
F8ba
a widowed parent’s allowance;
bb
a bereavement allowance;
c
a widow’s pension; and
d
a Category A or Category B retirement pension; and
F9e
a shared additional pension;
“short-term benefit” means—
- a
F10. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
- a
3
21 Contribution conditions.
1
Entitlement to any benefit specified in section 20(1) above, F13other than F14short-term incapacity benefit under subsection (1)(b) of section 30A below, long-term incapacity benefit under section F15subsection (5) of that sectionF16, maternity allowance under section 35 F58or 35B below or short-term or long-term incapacity benefit under section 40 or 41 belowF17or a shared additional pension under section 55A F61or 55AA below, depends on contribution conditions being satisfied (either by the claimant or by some other person, according to the particular benefit).
2
The class or classes of contribution which, for the purposes of subsection (1) above, are relevant in relation to each of those benefits are as follows—
Short-term benefit | |
|---|---|
F18. . . | F18. . . |
F19Short-term incapacity benefit under section F2030A(1)(a) below | Class 1 or 2 |
F21Maternity allowance | F21Class 1 or 2 |
Other benefits | |
F22Bereavement payment | Class 1, 2 or 3 |
Widowed mother’s allowance | Class 1, 2 or 3 |
F23Widowed parent’s allowance | Class 1, 2 or 3 |
Bereavement allowance | Class 1, 2 or 3 |
Widow’s pension | Class 1, 2 or 3 |
Category A retirement pension | Class 1, 2 or 3 |
Category B retirement pension | Class 1, 2 or 3 |
Child’s special allowance | Class 1, 2 or 3 |
3
The relevant contribution conditions in relation to the benefits specified in subsection (2) above are those specified in Part I of Schedule 3 to this Act.
4
Part II of Schedule 3 to this Act shall have effect as to the satisfaction of contribution conditions for benefit F24, other than maternity allowance, in certain cases where a claim for short-term benefit or a F25bereavement payment is, or has on a previous occasion been, made in the first or second year after that in which the contributor concerned first became liable for primary Class 1 or Class 2 contributions.
5
In subsection (4) above and Schedule 3 to this Act—
a
“the contributor concerned”, for the purposes of any contribution condition, means the person by whom the condition is to be satisfied;
b
“a relevant class”, in relation to any benefit, means a class of contributions specified in relation to that benefit in subsection (2) above;
c
“the earnings factor”—
i
where the year in question is 1987-88 or any subsequent tax year, means, in relation to a person, the aggregate of his earnings factors derived from F26so much of his earnings as did not exceed the upper earnings limit and upon which primary Class 1 contributions have been paid or treated as paid and from his Class 2 and Class 3 contributions; and
ii
where the year in question is any earlier tax year, means, in relation to a person’s contributions of any class or classes, the aggregate of his earnings factors derived from all those contributions;
d
except in the expression “benefit year”, “year” means a tax year.
F275A
Where primary Class 1 contributions have been paid or treated as paid on any part of a person’s earnings, the following provisions, namely—
a
subsection (5)(c) above;
c
paragraphs 2(4)(a) and (5)(a), 4(2)(a), 5(2)(b) and (4)(a) F57, 5A(3)(a) and 7(4)(a) of Schedule 3 to this Act,
shall have effect as if such contributions had been paid or treated as paid on so much of the earnings as did not exceed the upper earnings limit.
6
In this Part of this Act “benefit year” means a period—
a
beginning with the first Sunday in January in any calendar year, and
b
ending with the Saturday immediately preceding the first Sunday in January in the following calendar year;
but for any prescribed purposes of this Part of this Act “benefit year” may by regulations be made to mean such other period (whether or not a period of 12 months) as may be specified in the regulations.
C122 Earnings factors.
1
A person shall, for the purposes specified in subsection (2) below, be treated as having annual earnings factors derived—
a
in the case of 1987-88 or any subsequent tax year, from F30so much of his earnings as did not exceed the upper earnings limit and upon which primary Class 1 contributions have been paid or treated as paid and from Class 2 and Class 3 contributions; and
b
in the case of any earlier tax year, from his contributions of any of Classes 1, 2 and 3;
but subject to the following provisions of this section and those of section 23 below.
2
The purposes referred to in subsection (1) above are those of—
a
b
calculating the additional pension in the rate of a long-term benefit F63; and
c
establishing entitlement to a state pension under Part 1 of the Pensions Act (Northern Ireland) 2015 and, where relevant, calculating the rate of a state pension under that Part.
F322A
For the purpose specified in subsection (2)(b) above, in the case of the first appointed year or any subsequent tax year a person’s earnings factor shall be treated as derived only from F30so much of his earnings as did not exceed F43the applicable limit and on which primary Class 1 contributions have been paid or treated as paid.
F46This subsection does not affect the operation of sections 44A and 44B below (deemed earnings factors).
F442B
“The applicable limit” means—
a
in relation to a tax year before F512009–10, the upper earnings limit;
b
in relation to F512009–10 or any subsequent tax year, the upper accrual point.
3
Separate earnings factors may be derived for 1987-88 and subsequent tax years—
a
from earnings F33not exceeding the upper earnings limit upon which primary Class 1 contributions have been paid or treated as paid;
b
from earnings which have been credited;
c
from contributions of different classes paid or credited in the same tax year;
d
by any combination of the methods mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (c) above,
and may be derived for any earlier tax year from contributions of different classes paid or credited in the same tax year, and from contributions which have actually been paid, as opposed to those not paid but credited.
C84
Subject to regulations under section 19(4) to (6) above, no earnings factor shall be derived—
a
for 1987-88 or any subsequent tax year, from earnings F34in respect of which primary Class 1 contributions are paid at the reduced rate, or
b
for any earlier tax year, from primary Class 1 contributions paid at the reduced rate or from secondary Class 1 contributions.
5
Regulations may provide for crediting—
C2a
for 1987-88 or any subsequent tax year, earnings or Class 2 or Class 3 contributions, or
b
for any earlier tax year, contributions of any class,
for the purpose of bringing a person’s earnings factor for that tax year to a figure which will enable him to satisfy contribution conditions of entitlement to F31a contribution-based jobseeker’s allowance F48, to a contributory employment and support allowance or to any prescribed description of benefit (whether his own entitlement or another person’s).
F595ZA
Regulations may provide for crediting—
a
for 1987-88 or any subsequent tax year, earnings or Class 2 or Class 3 contributions, or
b
for any earlier tax year, contributions of any class,
for the purposes of bringing an earnings factor for that tax year to a figure which will make that year a “qualifying year”, “pre-commencement qualifying year” or “post-commencement qualifying year” of a person for the purposes of Part 1 of the Pensions Act (Northern Ireland) 2015 (see sections 2(4) and 4(4) of that Act).
5ZB
Regulations under subsection (5ZA) must provide for crediting a person with such contributions as may be specified in respect of periods on or after 6 April 1975 during which the person was—
a
a spouse or civil partner of a member of Her Majesty's forces,
b
accompanying the member on an assignment outside the United Kingdom, and
c
not of a description specified in the regulations.
F455A
Section 23A below makes provision for the crediting of Class 3 contributions for the purpose of determining entitlement to the benefits to which that section applies.
6
Regulations may impose limits with respect to the earnings factors which a person may have or be treated as having in respect of any one tax year.
7
The M1power to amend regulations made before 30th March 1977 (the making of the Social Security (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Northern Ireland) Order 1977) under subsection (5) above may be so exercised as to restrict the circumstances in which and the purposes for which a person is entitled to credits in respect of weeks before the coming into force of the amending regulations; but not so as to affect any benefit for a period before the coming into force of the amending regulations if it was claimed before 18th March 1977.
F498
In this section, “contributory employment and support allowance” means a contributory allowance under Part 1 of the Welfare Reform Act (Northern Ireland) 2007 (employment and support allowance).
F529
References in this Act or any other statutory provision to earnings factors derived from so much of a person's earnings as do not exceed the upper accrual point or the upper earnings limit are to be read, in relation to earners paid otherwise than weekly, as references to earnings factors derived from so much of those earnings as do not exceed the prescribed equivalent.
C323 Provisions supplemental to ss. 21 and 22.
1
Earnings factors derived as mentioned in section F3522(1) above, including earnings factors as increased by any order under section 130 of the Administration Act—
a
shall be expressed, subject to subsection (2) below, as whole numbers of pounds; and
b
shall be made ascertainable from tables or rules to be drawn up by the Department and embodied in regulations.
2
Subsection (1) above does not require earnings factors in respect of the tax year 1978-79 or any subsequent tax year which have been revalued for the purpose of calculating guaranteed minimum pensions under the Pensions Order F36or the Pensions Act to be expressed as whole numbers of pounds.
3
The tables and rules referred to in subsection (1) above shall be drawn up so that, in general—
a
in respect of the tax year 1987-88 and any subsequent tax year, the amount of earnings F37not exceeding the upper earnings limit upon which primary Class 1 contributions have been paid or treated as paid gives rise, subject to F53subsections (3A) and (4) below, to an earnings factor for that year equal or approximating to the amount of those earnings; and
b
any number of Class 2 or Class 3 contributions in respect of a tax year gives rise to an earnings factor for that tax year equal or approximating to that year’s lower earnings limit for Class 1 contributions multiplied by the number of contributions.
F543A
For the purposes specified in section 22(2)(b) (additional pension), subsection (3)(a) has effect in relation to 2009–10 and subsequent tax years as if the reference to the upper earnings limit were to the upper accrual point.
4
The Department may by regulations make such modifications of subsection (3)(a) above as appear to the Department to be appropriate in consequence of section 8(2) above.
23AF47Contributions credits for relevant parents and carers
1
This section applies to the following benefits—
a
a Category A retirement pension in a case where the contributor concerned attains pensionable age on or after 6th April 2010,
b
a Category B retirement pension payable by virtue of section 48A F64or 48AA below in a case where the contributor concerned attains pensionable age on or after that date,
c
a Category B retirement pension payable by virtue of section 48B below in a case where the contributor concerned dies on or after that date without having attained pensionable age before that date,
d
a widowed parent's allowance payable in a case where the contributor concerned dies on or after that date,
e
a bereavement allowance payable in a case where the contributor concerned dies on or after that date.
2
The contributor concerned in the case of a benefit to which this section applies shall be credited with a Class 3 contribution for each week falling after 6th April 2010 in respect of which the contributor was a relevant carer.
3
A person is a relevant carer in respect of a week if the person—
a
is awarded child benefit for any part of that week in respect of a child under the age of 12,
b
is a foster parent for any part of that week, or
c
is engaged in caring, within the meaning given by regulations, in that week.
4
Regulations may make provision for a person's entitlement to be credited with Class 3 contributions by virtue of falling within subsection (3)(b) or (c) above to be conditional on the person—
a
applying to be so credited in accordance with the prescribed requirements, and
b
complying with the prescribed requirements as to the provision of information to the Department F55or to the Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.
5
The contributor concerned in the case of a benefit to which this section applies shall be credited with 52 Class 3 contributions for each tax year ending before 6th April 2010 in which the contributor was precluded from regular employment by responsibilities at home within the meaning of regulations under paragraph 5(7) of Schedule 3 to this Act.
6
But the maximum number of tax years for which a person can be credited with contributions under subsection (5) above is—
a
in the case of a benefit mentioned in subsection (1)(a) to (c) above, 22;
b
in the case of a benefit mentioned in subsection (1)(d) or (e) above, half the requisite number of years of the person's working life.
7
The table in paragraph 5(5) of Schedule 3 to this Act (requisite number of years of a working life of given duration) applies for the purposes of subsection (6)(b) above as it applies for the purposes of the second condition set out in paragraph 5(3) of that Schedule.
8
For the purpose of determining entitlement to a benefit to which this section applies, a week that falls partly in one tax year and partly in another is to be treated as falling in the year in which it begins and not in the following year.
F658A
Where this section, or regulations made under it, have the effect that the contributor concerned is credited, on or after 6th April 2016, with contributions for a tax year starting before that date, the contributions are to be treated for the purposes of calculating the rate under paragraph 3 of Schedule 1 to the Pensions Act (Northern Ireland) 2015 as having been credited before 6th April 2016.
9
In this section—
“the contributor concerned” has the meaning given in section 21(5)(a) above;
“foster parent” has the meaning given by regulations.
24 Records of earnings and calculation of earnings factors in absence of records.
1
Regulations may provide for requiring persons to maintain, in such form and manner as may be prescribed, records of such earnings paid by them as are relevant for the purpose of calculating earnings factors, and to retain such records for so long as may be prescribed.
2
Where the Department is satisfied that records of earnings relevant for the purpose of calculating a person’s earnings factors for the tax year 1987-88 or any subsequent tax year have not been maintained or retained or are otherwise unobtainable, then, for the purpose of determining those earnings factors, the Department may—
a
compute, in such manner as it thinks fit, an amount which shall be regarded as the amount of F38so much of that person’s earnings as did not exceed the upper earnings limit and on which primary Class 1 contributions have been paid or treated as paid; or
b
take the amount of those earnings to be such sum as it may specify in the particular case.
Pt. II (ss. 20-62) excluded (13.1.1993) by S.R. 1979/242, reg. 4(1) (as substituted (13.1.1993) by S.R. 1992/557, reg. 3).