The Pensions (2008 No. 2 Act) (Commencement No. 10 and Supplementary Provisions) Order (Northern Ireland) 2012

Made: 28th September 2012

The Department for Social Development makes the following Order in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 113(2)(a) and 118(1) of the Pensions (No. 2) Act (Northern Ireland) 2008[^f00001].

Citation

1

This Order may be cited as the Pensions (2008 No. 2 Act) (Commencement No. 10 and Supplementary Provisions) Order (Northern Ireland) 2012.

Commencement of provisions

2

The following provisions of the Pensions (No. 2) Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 shall come into operation on 1st October 2012—

• (a) section 69 (stakeholder pension schemes), and

• (b) in Schedule 10 (repeals) in Part 1 the repeals relating to the Welfare Reform and Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1999[^f00002], and section 116 in so far as it relates to those repeals.

Supplementary provisions

3

• (1) Where an employer is making deductions from a person’s remuneration in accordance with a request under Article 5(5) of the Welfare Reform and Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 (duty of employers to facilitate access to stakeholder pension schemes), paragraph (2) of this Article applies.

• (2) Where the person withdraws a request to the employer to make deductions in accordance with Article 5(5) of the Welfare Reform and Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1999, that employer must notify the person that—

• (a) the employer is no longer required to make deductions from the person’s remuneration and pay contributions to the trustees or managers of the stakeholder pension scheme, and

• (b) the person may still be able to make payments directly to the stakeholder pension scheme, subject to the rules of that scheme or the terms and conditions of any contract governing that scheme.

Signed

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department for Social Development on 28th September 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 section 69 of, and consequential repeals in Part 1 of Schedule 10 to, the Pensions (No. 2) Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 (“the Act”) on 1st October 2012, the date on which the employer duties in sections 2 to 9 of the Act first apply to employers.

Article 5 of the Welfare Reform and Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 relates to the duty of employers to designate a stakeholder pension scheme for relevant employees. Article 5, as amended by section 69 of the Act, requires employers to continue to deduct contributions from the remuneration of those relevant employees who are contributing to a stakeholder pension scheme before the coming into operation of section 69, and to pass those contributions to the scheme.

The Order also makes supplementary provisions requiring an employer to provide certain information to an employee who makes a request to cease such deductions.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 2008 c. 13 (N.I.)

[^f00002]: S.I. 1999/3147 (N.I. 11); Article 5(5) is amended by section 69(6) of the Pensions (No. 2) Act (Northern Ireland) 2008