These Regulations further amend the Social Security (Graduated Retirement Benefit) (No. 2) Regulations 1978 (“the principal Regulations”), which preserve the rights, prospective rights or expectations of persons to graduated retirement benefit (“GRB”) by retaining the effect of sections 36 and 37 of the National Insurance Act 1965.

Regulation 2 substitutes a new regulation 2 in the principal Regulations. This provides for annual up-rating of GRB and, in particular, for additional GRB derived from the contributions of a deceased spouse to be included in the sum to be up-rated.

Regulation 3 amends section 36(7) of the National Insurance Act 1965 (which is set out in Schedule 1 to the principal Regulations) so as to limit the circumstances in which a person is treated as entitled to a retirement pension for the purpose of enabling him to receive GRB on its own. A person is not to be so treated if he has elected to defer his retirement pension or if he has withdrawn his claim.

These Regulations are made in consequence of certain amendments made by section 131 of the Pensions Act 1995 to the provisions relating to GRB in the Social Security Administration Act 1992 and the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992. As these Regulations are made before the end of the period of 6 months beginning with the coming into force of that section, they are exempt by section 173(5) of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 from reference to the Social Security Advisory Committee.

These Regulations do not impose any costs on business.