These Regulations extend to Northern Ireland.

In these Regulations—

• M1“the Act” means the Pensions Act 2004 and references to a numbered section are, unless the context otherwise requires, to a section of the Act;

• M2“the Northern Ireland Order” means the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 2005 and references to a numbered Article are, unless the context otherwise requires, to an Article of that Order;

• M3“the 1993 Act” means the Pension Schemes Act 1993;

• M4“the 1995 Act” means the Pensions Act 1995;

• M5“the FSMA” means the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 ;

• M6“the ICTA” means the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988;

• F4“the FAS Information and Payments Regulations” means the Financial Assistance Scheme (Provision of Information and Administration of Payments) Regulations 2005;

• “the Commissioners of HMRC” means the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs;

• “annual payment” means the amount payable to a beneficiary in respect of each year determined in accordance with F30regulation 17, 17C or 17E and Schedule 2, 3 or 4;

• F31“asset share” in respect of a person means the assets available to discharge the liability of the scheme in respect of that person as determined in accordance with regulation 22(2), or, where it applies, regulation 28(1);

• F32“beneficiary” means—

  1. a

     a qualifying member or, after that qualifying member’s death, the survivor and surviving dependants of that qualifying member; and

  2. b

     any person entitled to a payment in accordance with regulation 17G(1);

• F33“calculation date” means the last day of the month in which the scheme manager instructs the trustees or managers of a qualifying pension scheme to obtain a valuation under regulation 22;

• F14...

• F13“employment” means any trade, business, profession, office or vocation;

• F46“general level of prices” means, except where the revaluation percentage falls to be determined under regulation 17(13A) or 17A(13A) or paragraph 3(3C) or (3ZD) or 4(10) or (13C) of Schedule 2, the general level of prices in Great Britain determined in such manner as the Secretary of State thinks fit,

  and the Secretary of State shall publish from time to time the manner in which the general level of prices is to be determined;

• F11“ill health payment” means the amount payable to a beneficiary in respect of each year determined in accordance with regulation 17A and F34Schedules 2A, 5 and 6;

• F15“indexation date” means—

  1. a

     the 1st January next falling after a beneficiary first becomes entitled to F35a payment under regulation 17G, a payment under regulation 17H, an annual payment or an ill health payment; and

  2. b

     each subsequent 1st January during that beneficiary’s lifetime;

• “initial payment” means a payment made to a beneficiary in accordance with regulation 18;

• F12“interim ill health payment” means a payment made to a beneficiary in accordance with regulation 17B;

• F12“interim pension” has the meaning given in paragraph 2 of Schedule 2 as modified by paragraph 10 of that Schedule;

• F5“multi-employer scheme” means an occupational pension scheme in relation to which there is or has been—

  1. a

     a principal employer and at least one employer (who is not the principal employer in relation to that scheme); or

  2. b

     more than one employer,

  at the same time;

• F36“notional pension” means the annual rate of annuity determined in accordance with regulation 27(1)(a);

• F36“the Ombudsman” means the PPF Ombudsman or any person appointed under section 210(1) (deputy PPF Ombudsmen) to act as a deputy to the PPF Ombudsman;

• F48F50F47“partner” means a person who was not married to, or in a civil partnership with, the qualifying member but who was living with that member as if that person and the qualifying member were a married couple F49or civil partners;

  F16“pension credit member” has the meaning given by section 124(1) of the 1995 Act;

• F6...

• F7“principal employer” has the meaning given in regulation 12(6)

• F17“qualifying course” means a full time educational or vocational course at a recognised educational establishment where in pursuit of that course, the time spent receiving instruction or tuition, undertaking supervised study, examination or practical work or taking part in any exercise, experiment or project for which provision is made in the curriculum of the course exceeds 12 hours per week in normal term time, and shall include any gaps between the ending of one course and the commencement of another, where the person is enrolled on and commences the latter course;

• “qualifying member” shall be construed in accordance with regulation 15;

• “qualifying pension scheme” shall be construed in accordance with regulation 9;

• F37“relevant accounts” for the purposes of identifying and valuing the assets of a scheme, means the audited accounts for the scheme which—

  1. a

     show a true and fair view of—

     1. i

        the financial transactions of the scheme during the period to which the accounts relate (“the accounting period”);

     2. ii

        the amount and disposition of the assets at the end of the accounting period; and

     3. iii

        the liabilities of the scheme, other than the liabilities to pay pensions and benefits after the end of the accounting period;

  2. b

     are in such manner and form as the scheme manager may request;

  3. c

     include a report by the auditor in writing as to whether or not in the auditor’s opinion the requirements in paragraphs (a) and (b) above are satisfied; and

  4. d

     are prepared in respect of the period ending with the calculation date;

• F8“relevant public authority” has the meaning given in section 307(4) or, as the case may be, Article 280(4);

• “scheme manager” shall be construed in accordance with regulation 5;

• F38“scheme rules” means the rules of the qualifying pension scheme;

• F29“scheme’s pension liabilities”, in respect of a member of a qualifying pension scheme, means the liabilities of the scheme to, or in respect of, the member in respect of pensions or other benefits (including increases in pensions);

• F18“shared initial payment” means a payment which is not an initial payment and which is the amount payable to a survivor of a qualifying member who was a party to a polygamous marriage in accordance with regulation 18(4B) and paragraph 5(6A) of Schedule 2;

• F18“surviving dependant” shall be construed in accordance with regulation 16B;

• F19“survivor” shall be construed in accordance with regulation 16A;

• F39“survivor notional pension” means the annual rate of annuity determined in accordance with regulation 27(1)(c);

• M7“tax approved scheme” means a scheme which is approved or was formerly approved under section 590 (conditions for approval of retirement benefit schemes) or 591 (discretionary approval) of the ICTA or in respect of which an application for such approval has been duly made but has not been determined;

• F40“transfer notice” means the notice given under regulation 29;

• “trustees or managers” shall be construed in accordance with the definition in section 124(1) of the 1995 Act,

• F41“valuation actuary” has the meaning given in regulation 22(5),

• and other expressions have the meaning given to them in the Act or, as the case may be, in the Northern Ireland Order.

In these Regulations, “normal retirement age” means, subject to paragraph (1B), in relation to a member of an occupational pension scheme, the age specified in the rules of that scheme at which that member will normally retire.

In paragraph (1A), “the rules of that scheme” means the rules of the occupational pension scheme on the date on which benefits ceased to accrue to that member.

References in these Regulations to provisions of the 1993 Act, the 1995 Act, the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 M8 and to the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 M9 include references to the provisions in force in Northern Ireland corresponding to those provisions.

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For the purposes of these Regulations, a person is “terminally ill” at any time if at that time he suffers from a progressive disease and his death, in consequence of that disease, can reasonably be expected within six months.

For the purposes of these Regulations, the time when an occupational pension scheme begins to be wound up shall be determined in accordance with this regulation.

Where the rules of the scheme require or permit the scheme to be wound up but the trustees or managers determine in pursuance of section 38 of the 1995 Act M11 or otherwise that the scheme is not to be wound up for the time being, then for the purposes of paragraph (2), in so far as any provision made by the rules of the scheme as to the time when it begins to be wound up is inconsistent with the trustees' or managers' determination, that provision shall be disregarded.

Where under the rules of the scheme, any person other than the trustees or managers may determine that the scheme is to be wound up, or is not to be wound up for the time being, then the references in paragraphs (2)(a)(ii) and (3) to the trustees' or managers' determination shall be taken, in a case where the winding up begins or is deferred by virtue of that other person's determination, as a reference to his determination.

Paragraph (4) applies where such power is vested in the trustees or managers jointly with another person, or in some but not all of the trustees, as it applies where such a power is vested only in a person other than the trustees or managers.

The provisions of Parts 1 and 2 of the Act specified in paragraph (2) apply for the purposes of these Regulations with the modifications prescribed in Schedule 1.

Subject to paragraph (5), the provisions of Parts 1 and 2 of the Act which are applied by paragraph (1), shall apply to Northern Ireland for the purposes of these Regulations, with the prescribed modifications, as if those provisions extended to Northern Ireland.

Section 88(4) shall also apply to Northern Ireland for the purposes of these Regulations as if that provision extended to Northern Ireland.