Explanatory note

These Regulations amend the Occupational Pension Schemes (Charges and Governance) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015 (“the 2015 Regulations”).

Regulation 3 inserts definitions into regulation 2(1) of the 2015 Regulations, including definitions of “adviser” and “service provider”.

Regulation 4 makes consequential amendments to the 2015 Regulations.

Regulation 5 inserts regulations 11A to 11C into the 2015 Regulations.

Regulation 11A sets out that charges may not be imposed on members of certain occupational pension schemes where they are used to pay an adviser or to reimburse the service provider for a payment that they have made to an adviser. The duty to comply with regulation 11A is placed on service providers to those schemes.

Regulation 11B sets out requirements for information to be shared between the trustees and managers of those schemes and their service providers. The requirements of regulation 11A do not apply until the expiry of one month beginning with the date on which the trustees or managers provide the notification required by paragraph (1).

Regulation 11C provides that, subject to certain exceptions, the member can enter into an agreement with the adviser to pay charges that would otherwise be prohibited by these Regulations.

Regulations 6 to 9 make consequential and technical amendments to the compliance provisions in Part 4 of the 2015 Regulations. Regulation 10 sets out that the service provisions in Articles 2(7)(a), 277 and 278 of the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/255 (N.I. 1)) apply for the purpose of service of notices in the 2015 Regulations.

The Pensions (2015 Act) (Commencement No. 1) Order (Northern Ireland) 2015 (S.R. 2015 No. 307 (C. 25)) provides for the coming into operation of Schedule 18 to the Pensions Act (Northern Ireland) 2015, which contains some of the enabling provisions under which these Regulations are made, on 16th July 2015.

As these Regulations 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 does not apply by virtue of paragraph 8 of Schedule 18 to the Pensions Act (Northern Ireland) 2015.

An assessment of the impact of these Regulations is detailed in a Regulatory Impact Assessment, a copy of which has been laid in the Business Office and the Library of the Northern Ireland Assembly. Copies of the Assessment are available from the Department for Social Development, Social Security Policy and Legislation Division, Level 1, James House, 2-4 Cromac Avenue, Gasworks Business Park, Ormeau Road, Belfast BT7 2JA or from the website: https://www.dsdni.gov.uk/articles/pension-information. A copy of the Assessment is also annexed to the Explanatory Memorandum which is available alongside this Statutory Rule on the website: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisr.