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The Unfunded Public Service Defined Benefits Schemes (Transfers) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015

S.R. 2015/328 · Made 10 September 2015

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Pensions

Made 10th September 2015

Coming into operation 2nd October 2015

The Department of Finance and Personnel, in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 91(2A)(d) and 91(5A) of the Pension Schemes (Northern Ireland) Act 1993f1, make the following Regulations.

Annotations to the whole text

Footnotes

f1

1993 c.49. Sections 91(2A(d) and 91(5A) were inserted by the Pension Schemes Act 2015 (c8), section 71(3) and (4).

Contents

  1. 1Citation and Commencement
  2. 2Interpretation
  3. 3Requirements to be met by receiving arrangements
  4. Signature
  5. Explanatory note

1Citation and Commencement

(1)

These Regulations may be cited as The Unfunded Public Service Defined Benefits Schemes (Transfers) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015.

(2)

These Regulations come into operation on 2nd October 2015 but have no effect in relation to an application made under section 91(1) of the Act before that date.

2Interpretation

(1)

In these Regulations—

  • “the 1993 Act” means the Pension Schemes (Northern Ireland) Act 1993;

  • “the 1996 Regulations” means the Contracting-out (Transfer and Transfer Payment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996f1;

  • “cash equivalent” means a cash equivalent mentioned in section 90(1) of the 1993 Act (right to cash equivalent)f2;

  • “overseas arrangement” has the meaning given in regulation 1(2) of the 1996 Regulations (interpretation)f3;

  • “section 5(2B) rights” has the meaning given in regulation 1(2) of the 1996 Regulationsf4;

3Requirements to be met by receiving arrangements

(1)

The prescribed circumstances referred to in section 91(5A) of the 1993 Act (prescribed circumstances regarding the construction of section 91(2A)) are that a member of an unfunded public service defined benefits scheme who has acquired a right to a cash equivalent has required the managers of the scheme to use the cash equivalent for subscribing to an overseas arrangementf1.

(2)

The prescribed requirements referred to in section 91(2A)(d) of the 1993 Act (cash equivalent to be used for subscribing to pension arrangements not mentioned in section 91(2A)(a) to (c)) are that the pension arrangements to which it is proposed to subscribe—

(a)

is an overseas arrangement;

(b)

if the cash equivalent is or includes the cash equivalent of accrued section 5(2B) rights, is one to which a transfer payment in respect of such rights may be made in accordance with regulation 11 of the 1996 Regulations (transfer payments to overseas schemes or arrangements in respect of section 9(2B) rights)f2;

(c)

if the scheme from which rights are transferred is registered under section 153 of the Finance Act 2004 (registration of pension schemes)f3, is a qualifying recognised overseas pension scheme as defined in section 169(2) of the Finance Act 2004 (recognised transfers)f4; and

(d)

may only provide benefits by virtue of the subscription that are not flexible benefitsf5.

Signature

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Finance and Personnel on 10th September 2015

(L.S.)

Grace Nesbitt

A senior officer of the

Department of Finance and Personnel

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations prevent transfers under section 91 of the Pension Schemes (Northern Ireland) Act 1993 (‘the 1993 Act’) from an unfunded public service defined benefits scheme to a qualifying recognised overseas pension scheme which can provide flexible benefits as a result of the transfer.

Section 71 of the Pension Schemes Act 2015 (‘the 2015 Act’) restricted, by means of amendments to section 91 of the 1993 Act, transfers out of unfunded public service defined benefits schemes. The restriction does not apply if the scheme to which the transfer is to be made satisfies requirements prescribed in regulations. Section 71(9) of the 2015 Act provides that regulations made under section 91(2)(d) and 91(5)(a) of the 1993 Act apply for the purposes of section 91(2A)(d) and 91(5A) of the 1993 Act respectively, until the coming into operation of the first regulations made under the latter provisions. With the coming into operation of these Regulations, the first made under section 91(2A)(d) and 91(5A) of the 1993 Act, regulations 12(4) and 12(5) of the Occupational Pension Schemes (Transfer Values) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 (S.R. 1996 No.619) will no longer apply for the purposes of those provisions.