{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/employment-equality-sexual-orientation-regulations-northern-ireland-2003/regulation-28",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/employment-equality-sexual-orientation-regulations-northern-ireland-2003/regulation-28.json",
  "legislation": "nisr/2003/497",
  "legislation_title": "Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/employment-equality-sexual-orientation-regulations-northern-ireland-2003",
  "path": "regulation/28",
  "kind": "regulation",
  "number": "28",
  "heading": "Exception for benefits dependent on a person’s status",
  "text": "(1) Nothing in Part II or III shall render unlawful—\n(a) anything which prevents or restricts access to a benefit by reference to marital status where the right to the benefit accrued or the benefit is payable in respect of periods of service prior to the coming into force of the Civil Partnership Act 2004;\n(b) the conferring of a benefit on married persons and civil partners to the exclusion of all other persons.\n(2) Paragraph (1)(a) does not apply in relation to access to a benefit payable under an occupational pension scheme to the surviving spouse or surviving civil partner of a deceased member or deceased pension credit member of the scheme.\n(3) In paragraph (2), in relation to an occupational pension scheme—\n“member” means any active member, deferred member or pensioner member;\n“pension credit member” has the meaning given by Article 121(1) of the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1995;\nand “deceased member” and “deceased pension credit member” mean a person who was a member or a pension credit member (as the case may be) immediately before death.\n(4) In this regulation—\n“active member”, “deferred member” and “pensioner member” each has the meaning given by Article 121(1) of the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1995;\n“occupational pension scheme” has the meaning given by section 1(1) of the Pension Schemes (Northern Ireland) Act 1993.",
  "extent": "N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F1",
      "text": "Reg. 28 substituted (5.12.2005) by The Civil Partnership Act 2004 (Amendments to Subordinate Legislation) Order (Northern Ireland) 2005 (S.R. 2005/520), art. 1(1), Sch. para. 18(2)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F2",
      "text": "Reg. 28(1): reg. 28 renumbered as reg. 28(1) (with effect in accordance with reg. 1(2) of the amending S.I.) by The Occupational Pension Schemes (Amendment) (Equal Treatment) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2023 (S.I. 2023/1310), reg. 5(2)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F3",
      "text": "Reg. 28(2)-(4) inserted (with effect in accordance with reg. 1(2) of the amending S.I.) by The Occupational Pension Schemes (Amendment) (Equal Treatment) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2023 (S.I. 2023/1310), reg. 5(3)"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisr/2003/497/regulation/28",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T02:00:16.186398+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}