LegalizeThe Pensions (2008 No. 2 Act) (Commencement No. 9) Order (Northern Ireland) 2012
Made: 29th June 2012
The Department for Social Development makes the following Order in exercise of the powers conferred by section 118(1) of the Pensions (No. 2) Act (Northern Ireland) 2008[^f00001].
Citation and interpretation
1
- (1) This Order may be cited as the Pensions (2008 No. 2 Act) (Commencement No. 9) Order (Northern Ireland) 2012.
- (2) In this Order “the Act” means the Pensions (No. 2) Act (Northern Ireland) 2008.
Commencement of provisions
2
The following provisions of the Act shall come into operation on 30th June 2012—
- (a) the provisions specified in Part 1 of the Schedule, in so far as they are not already in operation, and
- (b) the provisions specified in Part 2 of the Schedule.
SCHEDULE
PART 1 — Provisions of the Act coming into operation on 30th June 2012 in so far as they are not already in operation
| Provisions of the Act | Subject matter |
|---|---|
| Section 2[^f00002] | Continuity of scheme membership |
| Section 3[^f00003] | Automatic enrolment |
| Section 5[^f00004] | Automatic re-enrolment |
| Section 6[^f00005] | Timing of automatic re-enrolment |
| Section 7[^f00006] | Jobholder’s right to opt in |
| Section 8 | Jobholder’s right to opt out |
| Section 9 | Workers without qualifying earnings |
| Section 10 | Information to be given to workers |
| Section 13[^f00007] | Qualifying earnings |
| Section 15 | Pay reference period |
| Section 16[^f00008] | Qualifying schemes |
| Section 17 | Automatic enrolment schemes |
| Section 18 | Occupational pension schemes |
| Section 20[^f00009] | Quality requirement: UK money purchase schemes |
| Section 21 | Quality requirement: UK defined benefits schemes |
| Section 22[^f00010] | Test scheme standard |
| Section 24 | Quality requirement: UK hybrid schemes |
| Section 26[^f00011] | Quality requirement: UK personal pension schemes |
| Section 29 | Transitional periods for money purchase and personal pension schemes |
| Section 30[^f00012] | Transitional period for defined benefits and hybrid schemes |
| Section 32[^f00013] | Power of trustees or managers to modify by resolution |
| Section 33 | Deduction of contributions |
| Section 37 | Unpaid contributions notices |
| Section 38 | Calculation and payment of contributions |
| Section 40[^f00014], except for subsection (1)(d) which is commenced for the purpose only of the exercise of the Regulator’s functions under Part 1 of the Act | Fixed penalty notices |
| Section 41[^f00015], except for subsection (1)(d) which is commenced for the purpose only of the exercise of the Regulator’s functions under Part 1 of the Act | Escalating penalty notices |
| Section 43 | Review of notices |
| Section 49 | Monitoring of employers’ payments to personal pension schemes |
| Section 52 | Penalty notices |
| Section 54[^f00016] | Inducements |
| Section 58 | Restrictions on agreements to limit operation of this Part |
PART 2 — Provisions of the Act coming into operation on 30th June 2012
| Provisions of the Act | Subject matter |
|---|---|
| Section 1 | Jobholders |
| Section 19 | Personal pension schemes |
| Section 31 | Effect of freezing order or assessment period |
| Section 34 | Effect of failure to comply |
| Section 35 | Compliance notices |
| Section 36 | Third party compliance notices |
| Section 39 | Meaning of “relevant contributions” |
| Section 42 | Penalty notices: recovery |
| Section 44[^f00017] | References to First-tier Tribunal or Upper Tribunal |
| Section 45 | Offences of failing to comply |
| Section 46 | Offences by bodies corporate |
| Section 47 | Offences by partnerships and unincorporated associations |
| Section 48 | Offences of providing false or misleading information |
| Section 50 | Prohibited recruitment conduct |
| Section 51 | Compliance notices |
| Section 53[^f00018] | Review of notices and references to the First-tier Tribunal or Upper Tribunal |
| Section 55 | The right not to suffer detriment |
| Section 56 | Enforcement of the right |
| Section 57, except for subsection (3) | Right of employee not to be unfairly dismissed |
| Section 60 | Powers to require information and to enter premises |
| Section 64 | Functions of the Pensions Ombudsman |
| Section 70 | “Employer”, “worker” and related expressions |
| Section 71 | Agency workers |
| Section 72 | Directors |
| Section 73 | Crown employment |
| Section 74 | Armed forces |
| Section 75 | Police |
| Section 76 | Persons working on vessels |
Signed
Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department for Social Development on 29th June 2012
Anne McCleary — A senior officer of the Department for Social Development
Explanatory note
(This note is not part of the Order)
EXPLANATORY NOTE
This Order brings into operation certain provisions of the Pensions (No. 2) Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 (“the Act”), as amended by the Pensions Act (Northern Ireland) 2012 (c. 3 (N.I.)), on 30th June 2012 to give effect to the introduction of the automatic enrolment duties set out in the Act.
The requirement in Chapter 1 of Part 1 of the Act (sections 1 to 33) to enrol certain workers (referred to in the Act as “jobholders”) into a pension scheme which meets the minimum standards specified in the Act will apply to employers in stages starting with the largest first, from 1st October 2012 onwards. However, from 1st July 2012 the Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Automatic Enrolment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010 (S.R. 2010 No. 122) provide that the largest employers will be able to enrol their workers into a pension scheme early, in line with the duties set out in the Act.
Chapter 2 of Part 1 of the Act (sections 34 to 49) sets out the regime for ensuring compliance with the automatic enrolment duties.
Chapter 3 of Part 1 of the Act (sections 50 to 58) sets out safeguards during the recruitment process and during employment to ensure that an employee’s rights to become and remain a member of a qualifying pension scheme are protected.
Section 60 sets out requirements in relation to record keeping and compliance.
Section 64 gives the Pensions Ombudsman the additional function of investigating complaints relating to a jobholder opting out of pension scheme membership.
Chapter 7 of Part 1 of the Act (sections 70 to 78) sets out how the automatic enrolment duties apply to particular types of worker, and defines the terms “employer”, “worker” and related expressions for the purposes of the Act.
Footnotes
[^f00001]: 2008 c. 13 (N.I.)
[^f00002]: Section 2 was amended by section 5(1) of the Pensions Act (Northern Ireland) 2012 (c. 3 (N.I.))
[^f00003]: Section 3 was amended by sections 6(1) and (2) and 7(1) of the Pensions Act (Northern Ireland) 2012 and Article 2(1) of S.R. 2012 No. 240
[^f00004]: Section 5 was amended by sections 5(2) to (4), 6(3) and (4) and 7(3) of the Pensions Act (Northern Ireland) 2012 and Article 2(1) of S.R. 2012 No. 240
[^f00005]: Section 6 was amended by sections 5(5), 7(4) and 8 of the Pensions Act (Northern Ireland) 2012
[^f00006]: Section 7 was amended by section 7(5) of the Pensions Act (Northern Ireland) 2012
[^f00007]: Section 13 was amended by Article 2(2) of S.R. 2012 No. 240
[^f00008]: Section 16 was amended by section 11 of the Pensions Act (Northern Ireland) 2012
[^f00009]: Section 20 was amended by regulation 3(2) of S.R. 2012 No. 120
[^f00010]: Section 22 was amended by section 12(1) of the Pensions Act (Northern Ireland) 2012
[^f00011]: Section 26 was amended by regulation 3(3) of S.R. 2012 No. 120
[^f00012]: Section 30 was amended by sections 7(6), 15 and 16 of the Pensions Act (Northern Ireland) 2012
[^f00013]: Section 32 was amended by sections 13(7) and 17 of the Pensions Act (Northern Ireland) 2012
[^f00014]: Section 40 was amended by paragraph 29 of Schedule 1 to the Pensions Regulator Tribunal (Transfer of Functions) Act (Northern Ireland) 2010 (c. 4 (N.I.))
[^f00015]: Section 41 was amended by paragraph 30 of Schedule 1 to the Pensions Regulator Tribunal (Transfer of Functions) Act (Northern Ireland) 2010
[^f00016]: Section 54 was amended by section 5(6) of the Pensions Act (Northern Ireland) 2012
[^f00017]: Section 44 was amended by paragraph 31 of Schedule 1 to the Pensions Regulator Tribunal (Transfer of Functions) Act (Northern Ireland) 2010
[^f00018]: Section 53 was amended by paragraph 32 of Schedule 1 to the Pensions Regulator Tribunal (Transfer of Functions) Act (Northern Ireland) 2010
Reading this document does not replace reading the official text published on legislation.gov.uk. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. We assume no responsibility for any inaccuracies arising from the conversion of the original CLML XML to this format.
This text is published under legislation.gov.uk's own terms of reuse, not a Legalize or public-domain licence.
legislation.gov.uk
Open Government Licence v3.0 (attribution required)
© Crown and database right. Derived from content available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 from legislation.gov.uk.