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(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Transfer of Employment (Pension Protection) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005 and shall come into operation on 6th April 2005.
(2) These Regulations apply in the case of a person (“the employee”) in relation to whom Article 234 (conditions for pension protection) applies, that is to say a person who, in the circumstances described in paragraph (1) of that Article, ceases to be employed by the transferor of an undertaking or part of an undertaking and becomes employed by the transferee.
(3) In these Regulations any reference to a numbered Article is a reference to the Article of the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 2005 bearing that number.
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(1) In a case where these Regulations apply, and the transferee is the employer in relation to a pension scheme which is not a money purchase scheme, that scheme complies with Article 235(2)(c)(ii) (alternative standard for a scheme which is not a money purchase scheme) if it provides either –
(a) for members to be entitled to benefits the value of which equals or exceeds 6 per cent. of pensionable pay for each year of employment together with the total amount of any contributions made by them and, where members are required to make contributions to the scheme, for them to contribute at a rate which does not exceed 6 per cent. of their pensionable pay, or
(b) for the transferee to make relevant contributions to the scheme on behalf of each employee of his who is an active member of it.
(2) In this regulation “pensionable pay” means that part of the remuneration payable to a member of a scheme by reference to which the amount of contributions and benefits are determined under the rules of the scheme.
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(1) In a case where these Regulations apply, the transferee’s pension contributions are relevant contributions for the purposes of Article 235(2)(b) in the case of a money purchase scheme, Article 235(3) to (5) in the case of a stakeholder pension scheme, and regulation 2(1)(b) in the case of a scheme which is not a money purchase scheme, if –
(a) the contributions are made in respect of each period for which the employee is paid remuneration, provided that the employee also contributes to the scheme in respect of that period, and
(b) the amount contributed in respect of each such period is –
(i) in a case where the employee’s contribution in respect of that period is less than 6 per cent. of the remuneration paid to him, an amount at least equal to the amount of the employee’s contribution;
(ii) in a case where the employee’s contribution in respect of that period equals or exceeds 6 per cent. of the remuneration paid to him, an amount at least equal to 6 per cent. of that remuneration.
(2) In calculating the amount of an employee’s remuneration for the purposes of paragraph (1) –
(a) only payments made in respect of basic pay shall be taken into account, and bonus, commission, overtime and similar payments shall be disregarded, and
(b) no account shall be taken of any deductions which are made in respect of tax, national insurance or pension contributions.
(3) In calculating the amount of a transferee’s pension contributions for the purposes of paragraph (1) in the case of a scheme which is contracted-out by virtue of section 5 of the Pension Schemes Act, minimum payments within the meaning of that Act shall be disregarded.
Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department for Social Development on 11th March 2005.
John O'Neill
A senior officer of the
Department for Social Development
