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The Pensions Act 2014 (Consequential, Supplementary and Incidental Amendments) Order 2017 in Northern Ireland

S.I. 2017/422 · Made 16 March 2017 · Extends to United Kingdom

Up to date with all changes known to legislation.gov.uk, revised to 1 April 2024.

Social Security

Made at 9.00 a.m. on 16th March 2017

Laid before Parliament at 2.00 p.m. on 16th March 2017

Coming into force in accordance with articles 1(2), 2 and 3

The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions makes the following Order in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 53 and 54(5) of the Pensions Act 2014f1.

Annotations to the whole text

Footnotes

f1

2014 c.19.

Contents

  1. 1Citation and commencement
  2. 18Amendment of the Social Security (Contributions) Regulations 2001
  3. 22Amendment of the Tax Credits (Definition and Calculation of Income) Regulations 2002
  4. 28Amendment of the Transfer of State Pensions and Benefits Regulations 2007
  5. 46Amendment of the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) Fees Order 2013
  6. Signature
  7. Explanatory note

1Citation and commencementI1

(1)

This Order may be cited as the Pensions Act 2014 (Consequential, Supplementary and Incidental Amendments) Order 2017.

(2)

This Order comes into force on the day on which section 30 of the Pensions Act 2014 (bereavement support payment) comes into force for all purposes (this is subject to articles 2 and 3).

18Amendment of the Social Security (Contributions) Regulations 2001I1

In regulation 49 of the Social Security (Contributions) Regulations 2001 (precluded Class 3 contributions)f1—

(a)

in paragraph (2)—

(i)

in sub-paragraph (a), omit “, bereavement allowance”; and

(ii)

in sub-paragraph (b), omit “bereavement payment or”; and

(b)

in paragraph (3), omit “, bereavement allowance”.

22Amendment of the Tax Credits (Definition and Calculation of Income) Regulations 2002I1

In regulation 7(3) of the Tax Credits (Definition and Calculation of Income) Regulations 2002 (social security income)f1 in Table 3, for row 3 substitute “3 A bereavement support payment under section 30 of the Pensions Act 2014.”.

28Amendment of the Transfer of State Pensions and Benefits Regulations 2007I1

(1)

The Transfer of State Pensions and Benefits Regulations 2007f1 are amended as follows.

(2)

In regulation 1(2) (interpretation)f2 in the definition of “relevant benefit”, after paragraph (ba) insert—

“(bb)

bereavement support payment under section 30 of the Pensions Act 2014 or section 29 of the Pensions Act (Northern Ireland) 2015f3;”.

(3)

In regulation 8(3) (effect of making a cash equivalent transfer payment)f4, after “Part 1” in both places it occurs insert “or Part 5”.

46Amendment of the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) Fees Order 2013I1 E+W+N.I.

In Schedule 2 to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) Fees Order 2013 (remissions and part remissions)f1—

(a)

in paragraph 1(1), for paragraph (i) of the definition of “excluded benefits” substitute—

“(i)

any payment of bereavement support payment under section 30 of the Pensions Act 2014;”; and

(b)

in paragraph 10, for sub-paragraph (n) substitute—

“(n)

any bereavement support payment in respect of the rate set out in regulation 3(2) or (5) of the Bereavement Support Payment Regulations 2017 (rate of bereavement support payment);”.

Signature

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.

Caroline Nokes

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State

Department for Work and Pensions

16th March 2017 at 9.00 a.m.

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order makes consequential, supplementary and incidental amendments in relation to the provisions of Part 5 of the Pensions Act 2014 (c.19), which creates a new bereavement support payment for people whose spouse or civil partner died on or after the date section 30 of that Act comes into force for all purposes. Bereavement support payment replaces the existing social security benefits for the bereaved (bereavement allowance, widowed parent’s allowance and bereavement payment).

Articles 2 and 3 enable bereavement allowance and bereavement payment to remain in payment. Those benefits will only remain in payment for people whose spouse or civil partner died before the date section 30 comes into force for all purposes. When the award of those benefits comes to an end, the amendments made by this Order will come into force for that person.

The amendments in this Order are all to secondary legislation. The majority of these amendments add a reference to bereavement support payment and/or remove a reference to bereavement allowance and bereavement payment. The amendments therefore mainly (1) enable existing secondary legislation to work in the same or similar way for bereavement support payment as it does for existing benefits for the bereaved or (2) remove references to existing benefits for the bereaved where the secondary legislation does not need to apply to bereavement support payment.

In particular, the following amendments are made.

Articles 9, 14, 21, 25, 26, 31, 43 and 44 make amendments which provide for how bereavement support payment is to be taken into account in income-related social security benefits. These are benefits which determine a claimant’s entitlement by reference to their income and capital. The amendments provide that bereavement support payment will be ignored when calculating a claimant’s income. The amendments also provide that any initial lump sum amount of bereavement support payment and any payment of arrears for 12 months will be ignored when calculating a claimant’s capital.

Articles 12, 17 and 40 make similar amendments to child support regulations so that bereavement support payment is not taken into account as income under those regulations.

Article 10 amends the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1987 (S.I. 1987/1968). Those Regulations contain the rules on when a claim to a benefit has to be made, how claims are made, how payments of benefit are made, the dates on which payments are made etc. The amendments apply those rules to bereavement support payment. For example, the amendment made by article 10(7)(d) provides that a claimant must claim the initial lump sum amount of bereavement support payment within 12 months of the death of their spouse or civil partner.

Article 15 amends the Social Security and Child Support (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations 1999 (S.I. 1999/991). Those Regulations contain the rules on how decisions relating to benefits should be made, when decisions can be changed, how appeals can be made against the decisions etc. The amendments apply those rules to bereavement support payment.

A full impact assessment has not been published for this Order as it has no impact on the private sector or civil society organisations. An assessment has been made of the impact of the introduction of bereavement support payment. Copies of that impact assessment may be obtained from the Legislation Team of the Department for Work and Pensions, Caxton House, Tothill Street, London SW1 9NA or from the DWP website: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/311316/pensions-act-ia-annex-a-single-tier-state-pension.pdf. (Annex A contains the assessment for bereavement support payment.)