The Occupational Pension Schemes (Investment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996

Type Ni-Statutory-Rule
Publication 1996-12-13
State In force
Jurisdiction Northern Ireland
Department Government Printer for Northern Ireland
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Made: 13th December 1996

Coming into operation: 6th April 1997

The Department of Health and Social Services, in exercise of the powers conferred on it by Articles 35(7), 40(1) and (2), 56(3), 115(1)(a), 120(2) and 166(1) to (3) of the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1995[^f00001] and of all other powers enabling it in that behalf, hereby makes the following Regulations:

Part I — General

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1

Schemes to which regulation 5 applies

2

“Connected” persons

3

Article 7 of the Insolvency (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 (connected persons) shall be modified in its application for the purposes of Article 40 and these Regulations so that a company shall not be connected with another company solely by reason of one or more of its directors being a director of that other company.

4

For the purposes of paragraph (e) of the definition of “employer-related investments” in Article 40(2) the following are prescribed as employer-related investments—

5

Investments to which restrictions do not apply

6

and to sums which would fall to be so treated by virtue of any of those Articles or that section were they not already debts due from the employer to the trustee or managers.

and for the purposes of paragraph (9)(d) all issues within a group of companies shall be treated as issued by a single issuer.

Transitional provisions

7

those investments may be retained in accordance with paragraph (2).

they may be held until—

8

Multi-employer schemes

9

then this Part of these Regulations (excepting this regulation) shall apply as if each section of the scheme were a separate scheme.

then this Part of these Regulations (excepting this regulation) shall apply as if the section in relation to which those conditions have ceased to be satisfied were a separate scheme.

(4) There shall be no new investment in employer-related investments while— (a) the resources of a scheme retained in investments which are employer-related investments in relation to a particular employer (other than investments authorised by regulation 6) exceed 5 per cent. of the current market value of the resources of the scheme; or (b) more than 20 per cent. overall of the current market value of the resources of the scheme is retained under this regulation in employer-related investments.

Part III — Exemptions from, and Modification of, Requirement to Obtain Statement of Investment Principles

Exemptions from Article 35

10

Multi-employer schemes: modification of Article 35

11

Part IV — Amendment

Amendment of the Occupational Pension Schemes (Minimum Funding Requirement and Actuarial Valuations) Regulations

12

(2) At any time after the transitional period, there shall also be excluded any resources which would fall into paragraph (1)(a)— (a) if their retention were not permitted by regulation 7 or 8 of the Occupational Pension Schemes (Investment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996, or (b) if regulation 9(3) of those Regulations were omitted. (3) In determining at any such time whether any resources fall within paragraph (1)(a) or (2), the current market value of the resources of the scheme for the purposes of regulation 5(1)(a) of those Regulations shall be taken not to include the value of any investment— (a) which is prohibited by regulation 5(1)(b) or (2) of those Regulations; (b) the retention of which is permitted by regulation 7 or 8 of those Regulations, or (c) which falls within paragraph (1)(b) or (c).

Part V — Revocations

Revocations

13

Signed

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Health and Social Services on 13th December 1996.

John O'Neill — Assistant Secretary

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations impose restrictions on the amount of the resources of an occupational pension scheme which may be invested in employer-related investments. They also exempt certain schemes from the requirement imposed on trustees of trust schemes by Article 35 of the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 (“the Order”) to obtain a statement of the principles governing decisions about investments for the purposes of the scheme. The Regulations replace the Occupational Pension Schemes (Investment of Scheme’s Resources) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992 which are now revoked.

Part I contains general provisions relating to citation, commencement and interpretation.

Part II prescribes certain investments as employer-related investments in addition to those specified in Article 40(2) of the Order and sets out the restrictions on employer-related investments. This Part also prescribes investments to which the restrictions do not apply. Special provision is made as regards the application of the restrictions to schemes in relation to which there is more than one employer.

Part III exempts certain schemes from the requirements of Article 35 of the Order and modifies its application in relation to multi-employer schemes.

Part IV amends the Occupational Pension Schemes (Minimum Funding Requirement and Actuarial Valuations) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996.

Part V contains consequential revocations.

The Pensions (1995 Order) (Commencement No. 2) Order (Northern Ireland) 1996 (S.R. 1996 No. 91 (C. 4)) provides for the coming into operation of Articles 35, 40 and 56 of the Order, for the purpose only of authorising the making of regulations, Article 120(2) of the Order and Article 166 of the Order, in so far as it was not already in operation, on 6th April 1996. The Pensions (1995 Order) (Commencement No. 5) Order (Northern Ireland) 1996 (S.R. 1996 No. 534 (C. 25)) provides for the coming into operation of Article 115 of the Order, in so far as it was not already in operation, on 19th November 1996.

As these Regulations make in relation to Northern Ireland only provision corresponding to provision contained in regulations made by the Secretary of State for Social Security in relation to Great Britain, the requirement for consultation under Article 117(1) of the Order does not apply by virtue of paragraph (2)(e) of that Article.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: S.I. 1995/3213 (N.I. 22)

[^f00002]: 1986 c. 60

[^f00003]: S.I. 1986/1032 (N.I. 6); Articles 4 and 4A were substituted for Article 4 by Article 62(1) of the Companies (No. 2) (Northern Ireland) Order 1990 (S.I. 1990/1504 (N.I. 10))

[^f00004]: 1982 c. 50

[^f00005]: S.I. 1989/2405 (N.I. 19)

[^f00006]: 1954 c. 33 (N.I.)

[^f00007]: Section 2(6) was inserted by regulation 4(2) of S.I. 1994/1696

[^f00008]: 1992 c. 40 subsection (4) was substituted by regulation 4 of S.I. 1994/1984

[^f00009]: Schedule 2F was inserted by regulation 45 of S.I. 1994/1696

[^f00010]: 1986 c. 53

[^f00011]: 1987 c. 22

[^f00012]: The Note to paragraph 1 was amended by article 2 of S.I. 1991/1104

[^f00013]: S.R. 1992 No. 47; regulation 5(4) was amended by paragraph 30 of Schedule 2 to S.R. 1994 No. 300

[^f00014]: S.R. 1996 No. 570

[^f00015]: S.R. 1994 No. 300

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