Section 8A The statutory standard.F1

Subject to the provisions of this Part, the scheme must, in relation to the provision of pensions for earners in employed earner’s employment, and for their F3widows, widowers or surviving civil partners, satisfy the statutory standard.

Subject to regulations made by virtue of section 5(2B)(c)(ii), in applying this section regard must only be had to—

collectively, and the pensions to be provided for persons falling within paragraph (a) or (b) must be considered as a whole.

For the purposes of this section, a scheme satisfies the statutory standard if the pensions to be provided for such persons are broadly equivalent to, or better than, the pensions which would be provided for such persons under a reference scheme.

Regulations may provided for the manner of, and criteria for, determining whether the pensions to be provided for such persons under a scheme are broadly equivalent to, or better than, the pensions which would be provided for such persons under a reference scheme.

Regulations made by virtue of subsection (4) may provide for the determination to be made in accordance with guidance prepared by a prescribed body F5....

The pensions to be provided for such persons under a scheme are to be treated as broadly equivalent to or better than the pensions which would be provided for such persons under a reference scheme if and only if an actuary (who, except in prescribed circumstances, must be the actuary appointed for the scheme in pursuance of Article 47 of the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1995) so certifies.