# The Pension Sharing (Pension Credit Benefit) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000, Regulation 27: Increases and reductions of cash equivalents before a statement of entitlement has been sent to the eligible member

Extent: N.I.
Status: prospective

(1) A cash equivalent referred to in section 97H shall not be reduced under this regulation once that cash equivalent has been sent to the eligible member and a direction referred to in paragraph (2) shall not affect such a cash equivalent unless that direction is made before that cash equivalent.
(2) Where it is the established custom for additional benefits to be awarded from the scheme at the discretion of the trustees or managers or the employer, the cash equivalent shall, unless the trustees or managers have given a direction that cash equivalents shall not take account of such benefits, take account of any such additional benefits as will accrue to the eligible member in question if the custom continues unaltered.
(3) The trustees or managers shall not make a direction such as is mentioned in paragraph (2) unless, within 3 months before making the direction, they have consulted the actuary and have obtained the actuary’s written report on the implications for the state of funding of the scheme of making such a direction, including the actuary’s advice as to whether or not in the actuary’s opinion there would be any adverse implications for the funding of the scheme should the trustees or managers not make such a direction.
(4) In the case of a scheme to which Article 56 applies, each respective part of the cash equivalent which relates to liabilities referred to in Article 73(3)(a), (c)(i) or (d) may be reduced by the percentage which is the difference between—
(a) 100 per cent., and
(b) the percentage of the liabilities mentioned in the relevant sub-paragraph of Article 73(3) which the actuarial valuation shows the scheme assets as being sufficient to satisfy,
where the actuarial valuation is the latest actuarial valuation obtained in accordance with Article 57 prior to the date by reference to which the cash equivalent is determined under section 97F(4) (power to give transfer notice).
(5) If, by virtue of Schedule 5 to the Minimum Funding Requirement Regulations, Article 56 applies to a section of a scheme as if that section were a separate scheme, paragraph (4) of this regulation shall apply as if that section were a separate scheme and as if the reference therein to a scheme were accordingly a reference to that section.
(6) Where an eligible member’s cash equivalent is to be used for acquiring transfer credits under the rules of another scheme or for acquiring rights under the rules of a personal pension scheme and the receiving scheme has undertaken to provide benefits at least equal in value to the benefits represented by that cash equivalent on payment of a lesser sum, including nil, then that cash equivalent shall be reduced to that lesser sum.
(7) Where all or any of an eligible member’s benefits have been appropriately secured by a transaction to which section 15 (discharge of liability of guaranteed minimum pensions secured by insurance policies or annuity contracts) applies, the cash equivalent in respect of those benefits shall be reduced to nil.
(8) For the purposes of paragraph (7), “appropriately secured” means the same as in section 15 except that an insurance policy or annuity contract which is taken out or entered into with an authorised friendly society (referred to in regulation 5(3)(b)), but which otherwise satisfies the conditions for being appropriate for the purposes of section 15, is to be treated as if it were appropriate for the purposes of that section provided the terms of such policy or contract are not capable of being amended, revoked or rescinded.
(9) Where a scheme has (in the case of a cash equivalent mentioned in section 97H, before the valuation date) begun to be wound up, a cash equivalent may be reduced to the extent necessary for the scheme to comply with Article 73 and the Winding Up Regulations.
(10) If, by virtue of the Winding Up Regulations, Article 73 applies to a section of a scheme as if that section were a separate scheme, paragraph (9) of this regulation shall apply as if that section were a separate scheme and as if the references therein to a scheme were accordingly references to that section.
(11) Where all or any of the benefits to which a cash equivalent relates have been surrendered, commuted or forfeited before the date on which the trustees or managers do what is needed to carry out what the eligible member requires, the cash equivalent of the benefits so surrendered, commuted or forfeited shall be reduced to nil.
(12) In a case where two or more of the paragraphs of this regulation fall to be applied to a calculation, they shall be applied in the order in which they occur in this regulation.
(13) In this regulation “actuary” has the meaning given by regulation 24.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisr/2000/146/regulation/27 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/pension-sharing-pension-credit-benefit-regulations-northern-ireland-2000/regulation-27
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.