Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992

48 Use of former spouse’s contributions. N.I.

(1) Where a person [F1 who attained pensionable age before 6 April 2016]—

(a) has been [F2 in a relevant relationship], and

(b) in respect of the tax year in which the [F3 relationship] terminated or any previous tax year, does not with his own contributions satisfy the contribution conditions for a Category A retirement pension,

then, for the purpose of enabling him to satisfy those conditions (but only in respect of any claim for a Category A retirement pension), the contributions of his former spouse [F4 or civil partner] may to the prescribed extent be treated as if they were his own contributions.

(2) Subsection (1) above shall not apply in relation to any person who attained pensionable age before 6th April 1979 if the termination of his [F5 relevant relationship] also occurred before that date.

[F6 (2A) Regulations under subsection (1) may not provide for contributions of a person in respect of times on or after 6 April 2016 to be treated as contributions of another person.]

[F7 (3) Where a person has been in a relevant relationship more than once, this section applies only to the last relevant relationship and the references to his relevant relationship and his former spouse or civil partner shall be construed accordingly.]

[F7 (4) In this section, “relevant relationship” means a marriage or civil partnership.]

[F8 (5) For the purposes of this section, a civil partnership is not to be treated as having terminated—

(a) by reason of its having been—

(i) converted into a marriage under section 9 of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013;

(ii) changed into a marriage under the Marriage (Scotland) Act 1977;

(iii) changed into a marriage in accordance with provision made under section 10 of the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014; or

(iv) changed into a marriage under Part 5 of the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014 and Civil Partnership Act 2004 (Consequential Provisions and Modifications) Order 2014; or

(b) by reason of a marriage which has been treated in Northern Ireland as a civil partnership ceasing to be so treated with effect from 13 January 2020.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in s. 48(1) inserted (6.4.2016) by Pensions Act (Northern Ireland) 2015 (c. 5), s. 53(3), Sch. 12 para. 48(2)

F2 Words in s. 48(1) substituted (5.12.2005) by Civil Partnership Act 2004 (c. 33), s. 263(8)(d), Sch. 24 para. 78(2)(a); S.I. 2005/3255, art. 2(1), Sch.

F3 Word in s. 48(1) substituted (5.12.2005) by Civil Partnership Act 2004 (c. 33), s. 263(8)(d), Sch. 24 para. 78(2)(b); S.I. 2005/3255, art. 2(1), Sch.

F4 Words in s. 48(1) inserted (5.12.2005) by Civil Partnership Act 2004 (c. 33), s. 263(8)(d), Sch. 24 para. 78(2)(c); S.I. 2005/3255, art. 2(1), Sch.

F5 Words in s. 48(2) substituted (5.12.2005) by Civil Partnership Act 2004 (c. 33), s. 263(8)(d), Sch. 24 para. 78(3); S.I. 2005/3255, art. 2(1), Sch.

F6 S. 48(2A) inserted (6.4.2016) by Pensions Act (Northern Ireland) 2015 (c. 5), s. 53(3), Sch. 12 para. 48(3)

F7 S. 48(3)(4) substituted for s. 48(3) (5.12.2005) by Civil Partnership Act 2004 (c. 33), s. 263(8)(d), Sch. 24 para. 78(4); S.I. 2005/3255, art. 2(1), Sch.

F8 S. 48(5) inserted (13.1.2020) by The Marriage (Same-sex Couples) and Civil Partnership (Opposite-sex Couples) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/1514), regs. 1(2), 66(5) (with regs. 6-9)

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 48(1) modified (6.4.2016) in accordance with Pensions Act (Northern Ireland) 2015 (c. 5), ss. 8(1)(e), 9, 53(3), Sch. 5 (with s. 8(9)(b))