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STATUTORY RULES OF NORTHERN IRELAND


2005 No. 387

PENSIONS

The Occupational Pension Schemes (Employer Debt, etc.) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005

  Made 12th August 2005 
  Coming into operation 2nd September 2005 

The Department for Social Development, in exercise of the powers conferred by Articles 10(3), 56(3), 75(1)(b), (5) and (10), 75A(1) to (7), 87(2), 115(1)(a) and (b), 116, 122(3) and 166(1) to (3) of the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1995[1], and now vested in it[2], and Articles 2(5)(a), 88(2)(q) and 119(4) of, and paragraph 2(d) of Schedule 1 to, the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 2005[3] and of all other powers enabling it in that behalf, hereby makes the following Regulations:

Citation, commencement and interpretation
     1. —(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Occupational Pension Schemes (Employer Debt, etc.) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005 and shall come into operation on 2nd September 2005.

    (2) Regulation 2(1), (2), (5) and (8) does not apply if the employment-cessation event occurs before that date.

    (3) Regulation 2(1) and (7) does not apply if the applicable time is before that date.

    (4) In these Regulations—

Amendment of the 2005 Regulations
     2. —(1) The 2005 Regulations shall be amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (8).

    (2) In regulation 2(1) (interpretation) at the end there shall be added the following definition—

    (3) In regulation 4(1) (schemes to which Article 75 does not apply) sub-paragraph (k) and the word "or" immediately preceding it shall be omitted.

    (4) In regulation 5 (calculation of the value of scheme liabilities and assets: defined benefit schemes)—

    (5) For regulation 7 (multi-employer schemes: valuations for employment-cessation events) there shall be substituted the following regulations—

    (6) In regulation 9 (former employers)—

    (7) In regulation 10 (money purchase schemes: fraud and levy deficiencies etc.), as it applies by virtue of regulation 12 of the 2005 Regulations (multi-employer money purchase schemes), in paragraph (1A)(a) for "the actuary" there shall be substituted "the trustees or managers".

    (8) After Schedule 1 there shall be inserted, as Schedules 1A and 1B, the Schedules set out in the Schedule to these Regulations.

The Pension Regulator's functions under the 2005 Regulations
    
3. —(1) The following functions under the 2005 Regulations are regulatory functions for the purposes of Part II of the Order—

    (2) The Pensions Regulator may, if it thinks fit, delegate the functions specified in paragraph (1) to the Determinations Panel.

Amendment of the Occupational Pension Schemes (Minimum Funding Requirement and Actuarial Valuations) Regulations
    
4. In regulation 6(1)(b) of the Occupational Pension Schemes (Minimum Funding Requirement and Actuarial Valuations) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996[6] (excluded assets) for ", 60(5) or 75(1)" there shall be substituted "or 60(5) or under Article 75(1), as it has effect before 6th April 2005, or under Article 75(2) or (4), as it has effect on or after that date".

Amendment of the Pension Protection Fund (Entry Rules) Regulations
     5. In regulation 16(1)(a)(ii) of the Pension Protection Fund (Entry Rules) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005[7] (restrictions on winding up, discharge of liabilities etc.) for "section 90(1)(a)" there shall be substituted "section 90(1)(aa)"[8].

Amendment of the Pensions Regulator (Financial Support Directions, etc.) Regulations
     6. In regulation 15(2) of the Pensions Regulator (Financial Support Directions, etc.) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005[9] (former employers)—



Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department for Social Development on


12th August 2005.

L.S.


John O'Neill
A senior officer of the Department for Social Development


SCHEDULE
Regulation 2(8)


SCHEDULES TO BE INSERTED IN THE 2005 REGULATIONS




EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)


These Regulations are made as a consequence of provisions in the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 2005 ("the 2005 Order") and amend the Occupational Pension Schemes (Employer Debt) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005 ("the 2005 Regulations") where debts arise under Article 75 of the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 ("the 1995 Order") in respect of certain occupational pension schemes. They also make minor amendments to the Occupational Pension Schemes (Minimum Funding Requirement and Actuarial Valuations) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996, the Pension Protection Fund (Entry Rules) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005 and the Pensions Regulator (Financial Support Directions etc.) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005.

Regulation 1 provides that the amendments made by regulation 2(1), (2), (5), (7) and (8) do not apply where the debt arose before the date on which these Regulations come into operation.

Regulation 2(3) and (7) makes minor amendments of the 2005 Regulations. In particular, the Salvation Army pension scheme is omitted from the list of schemes to which Article 75 of the 1995 Order does not apply, and the function of determining the proportion of any levy deficit or criminal deficit in the pension fund of a multi-employer money purchase scheme that is to be due from any of the employers is transferred from the scheme's actuary to the scheme's trustees or managers.

Regulation 2(4) amends regulation 5 of the 2005 Regulations so that where a debt has arisen under Article 75 of the 1995 Order on the leaving of an employer and an approved withdrawal arrangement has applied, valuations for events happening later are to ignore the debts that arose when the employer left.

Regulation 2(5) amends the 2005 Regulations by substituting new regulations 7 to 7B.

Under the new regulation 7 where a debt arises under Article 75 of the 1995 Order because of an employer ceasing to employ persons in employments covered by an occupational pension scheme where there was more than one such employer, and an arrangement (an "approved withdrawal arrangement") is approved by the Pensions Regulator under which parties to the arrangement ("the guarantors") are bound to make payments to the scheme if certain events occur, the debt becomes partly payable by the leaving employer, and partly by the guarantors at a later time ("the guarantee time"). (The amended provisions of the 2005 Regulations refer to "the Authority" but in accordance with Article 121(1) of the 1995 Order that means the Pensions Regulator.)

New regulation 7A provides for the part payable by the leaving employer to be calculated on the same basis as is used for minimum funding valuations under Article 56 of the 1995 Order, except that a deduction is made where liabilities attributable to employment with the employer have been transferred out before the withdrawal arrangement was approved.

New regulation 7B provides that the basis on which the part payable by the guarantors is calculated depends on the terms of the approved withdrawal arrangement. It may be the amount that would be payable if the leaving employer had ceased at the guarantee time to employ persons in employments covered by the scheme. Alternatively, it may be the amount that would be payable if there were no approved withdrawal arrangement, but with a deduction both for the amount payable by the leaving employer and for any transfers out of the scheme of liabilities attributable to employment with the leaving employer.

Regulation 2(6) amends regulation 9 of the 2005 Regulations so that a leaving employer who has paid the debt due from him under the new regulation 7A no longer counts as an employer for the purposes of Article 75 of the 1995 Order and the 2005 Regulations, regardless of whether the amount payable by the guarantors has been paid.

Regulation 2(8) inserts Schedules 1A and 1B into the 2005 Regulations. Schedule 1A sets out the requirements for the approval of withdrawal arrangements and imposes a requirement for the guarantors to notify the Pensions Regulator if certain events occur that are relevant to their solvency. Schedule 1B sets out the form that the scheme actuary's certificate must take for the valuation of scheme assets and liabilities based on Article 56 of the 1995 Order that is needed to determine the amount of the debt payable by the leaving employer under the new regulation 7A.

Regulation 3 makes provision about the exercise of functions of the Pension Regulator under the 2005 Regulations, as amended by regulation 2 of these Regulations.

Regulation 4 makes an amendment of the Occupational Pension Schemes (Minimum Funding Requirement and Actuarial Valuations) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 that is consequential on the amendments of Article 75 of the 1995 Order by Article 248 of the 2005 Order.

Regulation 5 corrects a minor error in the Pension Protection Fund (Entry Rules) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005.

Regulation 6 amends the Pensions Regulator (Financial Support Directions etc.) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005 so that, for the purposes of those Regulations and provisions of the 2005 Order relating to contribution notices, financial support directions and transactions at an undervalue, a former employer does not count as an employer if an approved withdrawal arrangement has applied and the part of the debt payable by the former employer under regulation 7A of the 2005 Regulations has been paid.

As these Regulations, in so far as they are made under Part II of the 1995 Order make, in relation to Northern Ireland only provision corresponding to provision contained in regulations made by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in relation to Great Britain, the requirement for consultation under Article 117(1) of the 1995 Order does not apply by virtue of paragraph (2)(e) of that Article and the requirement for consultation under Article 289(1) of the 2005 Order does not apply by virtue of paragraph (2)(e) of that Article.

Otherwise they are made before the end of the period of six months beginning with the coming into operation of Articles 248 and 249 of the 2005 Order, upon which they consequential, the requirement to consult under Article 289(1) of the Order does not apply by virtue of paragraph (2)(c) of that Article.


Notes:

[1] S.I. 1995/3213 (N.I. 22); Article 75 was amended by Article 248 of the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/255 (N.I. 1)), Article 75A was inserted by Article 249 of that Order and Article 87(2) was amended by paragraph 60(b) of Schedule 10 to that Orderback

[2] See Article 8(b) of S.R. 1999 No. 481back

[3] S.I. 2005/255 (N.I. 1); Article 88(2)(q) and paragraph 2(d) of Schedule 1 refer to functions of the Regulator, which by virtue of Article 6(1)(b) and (2)(b) include functions expressed to be conferred on "the Authority" by or by virtue of the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1995back

[4] S.R. 2005 No. 168back

[5] S.R. 1991 No. 37; paragraph (2) was substituted by regulation 35 of S.R. 1992 No. 304 and amended by regulation 2(7)(a) of S.R. 1996 No. 620 and paragraph (3) was substituted by regulation 2(a) of S.R. 1993 No. 324 and amended by regulation 2(a) of S.R. 1999 No. 378back

[6] S.R. 1996 No. 570; sub-paragraph (b) was amended by regulation 12(1) of S.R. 1996 No. 584back

[7] S.R. 2005 No. 126; regulation 16(1) was amended by regulation 3(5) of S.R. 2005 No. 194back

[8] Paragraph (aa) was inserted by Article 150(2) of the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1995back

[9] S.R. 2005 No. 378back

[10] Paragraph (6A) was inserted by Article 248(5) of the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 2005back

[11] S.I. 1989/2405 (N.I. 19); Article 178 was modified by Schedule 15 to the Building Societies Act 1986 (c. 53) as amended by Article 381 of, and Part II of Schedule 9 to, the Insolvency (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 and by section 23 of, and Schedule 10 to, the Friendly Societies Act 1992 (c. 40). Regulation 5 of S.R. 2004 No. 307 applies Article 178 to limited liability partnerships with modifications including that references to a company include references to such partnerships and references to a director include references to a member (see regulation 5(2)(a) and (b))back

[12] S.I. 1986/1032 (N.I. 6); under regulation 4 of, and Part I of Schedule 2 to, S.R. 2004 No. 307 Article 9 (except paragraph (3)) applies to limited liability partnerships with the modifications set out in regulation 4(1)back



ISBN 0 337 96155 7


 © Crown copyright 2005

Prepared 2 September 2005


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