Section 176 General interpretation.

In this Act—

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• “age”, in relation to any person, shall be construed so that—

  1. (a)

     he is over or under a particular age if he has or, as the case may be, has not attained that age;

  2. (b)

     he is between two particular ages if he has attained the first but not the second;

• F3“appropriate scheme” and “appropriate scheme certificate” are to be construed in accordance with F4section 3B;

• “the Assembly” means the Northern Ireland Assembly;

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• “Category A retirement pension” and “Category B retirement pension” mean the retirement pensions of those descriptions payable under Part II of the M1Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992;

• F6“civil recovery order” means an order under section 266 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 or an order under section 276 imposing the requirement mentioned in section 277(3).

• F7“collective money purchase benefit” has the meaning given by section 52 of the Pension Schemes Act 2021;

• “contract of service” has the same meaning as in section 121(1) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992;

• “contracted-out employment” shall be construed in accordance with section 4;

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• “contracting-out certificate” and references to a contracted-out scheme and to contracting-out shall be construed in accordance with F9section 3B;

• “contributions equivalent premium” F10means a premium that was paid under section F1151(2);

• “the Department” means the Department of Health and Social Services for Northern Ireland;

• “the Department of Finance and Personnel” means the Department of Finance and Personnel in Northern Ireland;

• “earner” and “earnings” shall be construed in accordance with F12section 4(1B) of this Act and sections 3, 4 and 112 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992;

• “earnings factors” shall be construed in accordance with sections 22 and 23 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992;

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• ...

• F14“employed earner” and “self-employed earner” have the meanings given by section 2 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992;

• “employee” means a person gainfully employed in Northern Ireland either under a contract of service or in an office (including an elective office) with F15 earnings;

• “employer” means—

  1. (a)

     in the case of an employed earner employed under a contract of service, his employer;

  2. (b)

     in the case of an employed earner employed in an office with emoluments—

  3. (i)

     such person as may be prescribed in relation to that office; or

  4. (ii)

     if no person is prescribed, the government department, public authority or body of persons responsible for paying the emoluments of the office;

• “employment” includes any trade, business, profession, office or vocation and “employed” shall be construed accordingly except in the expression “employed earner”;

• F16“Financial Services Compensation Scheme” means the Financial Services Compensation Scheme referred to in section 213(2) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000;

• F17“the first abolition date” has the meaning given by section 3A;

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• “government department” includes a department of the government of the United Kingdom;

• “guaranteed minimum pension” has the meaning given in section 4(2);

• F20“HMRC” means the Commissioners for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs;

• “independent trade union” has the meaning given in Article 2(2) of the M2Industrial Relations (Northern Ireland) Order 1992;

• “industrial tribunal” means a tribunal established or having effect as if established under F21Article 3 of the Industrial Tribunals (Northern Ireland) Order 1996;

• “the Inland Revenue” means the Commissioners of Inland Revenue;

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• “linked qualifying service” has the meaning given in section 174;

• “long-term benefit” has the meaning given in section 20(2) of the M3Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992;

• “lower earnings limit” and “upper earnings limit” shall be construed in accordance with section 5 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 and “current”, in relation to those limits, means for the time being in force;

• “minimum contributions” shall be construed in accordance with sections 39 to 41;

• “minimum payment” has the meaning given in section 4(2);

• “modifications” includes additions, omissions and amendments;

• “money purchase benefits”, in relation to a member of a personal or occupational pension scheme or the F24widow, widower or surviving civil partner of a member of such a scheme, F25means—

  1. (a)

     benefits the rate or amount of which is calculated by reference to a payment or payments made by the member or by any other person in respect of the member and F26which fall within section 176B F27, and

  2. (b)

     collective money purchase benefits;

• F28“money purchase contracted-out scheme” is to be construed in accordance with F29section 3B;

• F30“money purchase scheme” means a pension scheme under which all the benefits that may be provided are money purchase benefits;

• “National Insurance Fund” means the Northern Ireland National Insurance Fund;

• “normal pension age” has the meaning given in section 175;

• “occupational pension scheme” has the meaning given in section 1;

• F31“overseas arrangement” means a scheme or arrangement which—

  1. (a)

     has effect, or is capable of having effect, so as to provide benefits on termination of employment or on death or retirement to or in respect of earners;

  2. (b)

     is administered wholly or primarily outside Northern Ireland;

  3. (c)

     is not an appropriate scheme; and

  4. (d)

     is not an occupational pension scheme;

• F32“pension credit” means a credit under Article 26(1)(b) of the Welfare Reform and Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 or under section 29(1)(b) of the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999;

• F33“pension debit” means a debit under Article 26(1)(a) of the Welfare Reform and Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1999;

• F34“pensionable age”—

  1. (a)

     so far as any provisions (other than sections 42 to 44) relate to guaranteed minimum pensions, means the age of 65 in the case of a man and the age of 60 in the case of a woman, and

  2. (b)

     in any other case, has the meaning given by the rules in paragraph 1 of Schedule 2 to the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1995;

  3. (c)

     “pensionable service” has the meaning given in section 66(2);

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• “personal pension scheme” has the meaning given in section 1;

• “prescribe” means prescribe by regulations;

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• “the preservation requirements” has the meaning given in section 65(2);

• “primary Class 1 contributions” and “secondary Class 1 contributions” have the same meanings as in section 6 of the M4Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992;

• F38“the principal appointed day” means 6 April 1997 (which is the day designated as the principal appointed day for the purposes of Part 4 of the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1995);

• “protected rights” has the meaning given in section 6 F39, as it had effect immediately prior to the abolition date;

• “public service pension scheme” has the meaning given in section 1;

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• “regulations” means regulations made by the Department under this Act;

• “ the Regulatory Authority” F41means the Pensions Regulator;

• “resources”, in relation to an occupational pension scheme, means the funds out of which the benefits provided by the scheme are payable from time to time, including the proceeds of any policy of insurance taken out, or annuity contract entered into, for the purposes of the scheme;

• “rights”, in relation to accrued rights (within the meaning of section 69 F42... or 174) or transfer credits, includes rights to benefit and also options to have benefits paid in a particular form or at a particular time;

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• “salary related contracted-out scheme” is to be construed in accordance with section 3B;

• “the second abolition date” has the meaning given by section 3A;

• “short service benefit” has the meaning given in section 67(2);

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• “tax week” means one of the successive periods in a tax year beginning with the first day of that year and every seventh day thereafter, the last day of a tax year (or, in a leap year, the last two days) being treated accordingly as a separate tax week;

• “tax year” means the 12 months beginning with 6th April in any year;

• “transfer credits” means rights allowed to an earner under the rules of an occupational pension scheme by reference to F47—

  1. (a)

     a transfer to the scheme of, or transfer payment to the trustees or managers of the scheme in respect of, any of his rights (including transfer credits allowed) under another occupational pension scheme or a personal pension scheme, other than rights attributable (directly or indirectly) to a pension credit, or

  2. (b)

     a cash transfer sum paid under F48Chapter 2 of Part 4ZA in respect of him, to the trustees or managers of the scheme;

• F49“the upper accrual point” has the meaning given by section 121 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992;

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• ...

• “week” means a period of seven days beginning with Sunday;

• F51“working life” , in relation to a person, means the period beginning with the tax year in which the person attains the age of 16 and ending with —

  1. (a)

     the tax year before the one in which the person attains the age of 65 in the case of a man or 60 in the case of a woman, or

  2. (b)

     if earlier, the tax year before the one in which the person dies.

References to employers in the provisions of this Act (other than sections 119 to 123, 153 F52and 156 (“the excluded provisions”)) are to be treated, in relation to persons within the application of an occupational pension scheme and qualifying or prospectively qualifying for its benefits, as including references to persons who in relation to them and their employment are treated by regulations as being employers for the purposes of those provisions.

Subject to any such regulations, references to an employer in any of the provisions of this Act (other than the excluded provisions or F53... Chapter I of Part IV, Part VIII so far as it applies for the purposes of Chapter I of Part IV, sections F54... 149(2), 154(1) to (5), 158, 159 F55... and 171) shall, in relation to an earner employed in an office with emoluments, be construed as references to—

Regulations may for any purpose of any provision of this Act (other than the excluded provisions or section F56... F57... F58... F59... 39, F60... 107, 156, 160 or 161) prescribe the persons who are to be regarded as members or prospective members of an occupational pension scheme and as to the times at which and the circumstances in which a person is to be treated as becoming, or as ceasing to be, a member or prospective member.

In sections 161 and 162—

Any reference in section 180 or 181 to an order or regulations under this Act includes a reference to an order or regulations made under any provision of an enactment passed after this Act and directed to be construed as one with it; but this subsection applies only so far as a contrary intention is not expressed in the enactment so passed, and shall be without prejudice to the generality of any such direction.

The M5Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 shall apply to this Act—

For the purposes of Part III of the M6Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973 (validity of Measures of the Assembly, including Orders in Council under the M7Northern Ireland Act 1974), provisions of this Act which re-enact provisions of such an Order are to be treated as provisions of such an Order.