Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Automatic Enrolment) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2014 and shall come into operation on 1st April 2014.

Amendment of the Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Automatic Enrolment) Regulations

2.  (1)  The Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Automatic Enrolment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010(2) are amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) and (3).

(2) In regulation 32I(1)(3) (contributions under alternative requirements during transitional periods) omit ", but not for the purposes of regulation 32G,".

(3) In regulation 36 (certain schemes providing average salary benefits excluded from being qualifying schemes)-

(a)in paragraph (1) for "paragraph (3)" substitute "paragraphs (2A) and (3)";

(b)after paragraph (2) insert-

"(2A) Paragraph (1) does not apply to a scheme with the feature specified in paragraph (2)(b) if-

(a)the funding of the scheme is based on the assumption that accrued benefits would be revalued at or above the minimum rate, and

(b)such funding is provided for in the scheme's statement of funding principles under Article 202 of the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 2005(4) or, if the scheme is not required to have such a statement, in an equivalent statement of the scheme's funding plan.";

(c)for paragraphs (4)(5) and (5)(6) substitute-

"(4) For the purposes of this regulation, the minimum rate on a revaluation of accrued benefits is either-

(a)where a scheme is a scheme established under section 1 of the 2014 Act (schemes for persons in public service) or is a new public body pension scheme as defined in section 31(4) of the 2014 Act, an annual increase or decrease by the relevant percentage for the year by reference to which the revaluation is made, or

(b)in any other case, an annual increase by whichever is the lesser or the least of-

(i)the percentage increase in the retail prices index for the year by reference to which the revaluation is made;

(ii)the percentage increase in the general level of prices for the year by reference to which the revaluation is made, and

(iii)2.5%.

(5) In this regulation-

"the 2014 Act" means the Public Service Pensions Act (Northern Ireland) 2014(7);

"general level of prices" means the general level of prices determined in accordance with regulation 36(5) of the Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Automatic Enrolment) Regulations 2010(8) (certain schemes providing average salary benefits excluded from being qualifying schemes);

"relevant percentage" means-

"retail prices index" means-

Revocations

3.  The following regulations are revoked-

(a)regulation 2(5) of the Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Automatic Enrolment) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012(10);

(b)regulation 2(b) of the Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Automatic Enrolment) (Amendment No. 3) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012(11).

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend regulations 32I and 36 of the Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Automatic Enrolment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010 ("the 2010 Regulations").

Regulation 2(2) amends regulation 32I of the 2010 Regulations so as to provide that the modification to the alternative requirements during the transitional periods under that regulation applies to hybrid schemes that satisfy the alternative requirements under regulation 32G of the 2010 Regulations.

Regulation 2(3) amends regulation 36 of the 2010 Regulations to-

• insert paragraph (2A) so as to provide that an average salary scheme which requires benefits to be revalued at less than the minimum rate is not prevented from being a qualifying scheme if both the scheme's funding and statement of funding principles (or equivalent) assume that revaluation will be at or above the minimum rate;

• provide that the minimum rate is, where the scheme is a scheme established under section 1 of the Public Service Pensions Act (Northern Ireland) 2014 or is a new public body pension scheme (as defined in section 31(4) of that Act), the relevant percentage specified in an order under section 9(2) of that Act or, in any other case, whichever is the least or lesser of the increase in the retail prices index, the general level of prices and 2.5%.

Regulation 3 makes consequential revocations.