Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the State Pension Credit (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005 and shall come into operation on 18th December 2005.

(2) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954(4) shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to an Act of the Assembly.

Amendment of the State Pension Credit Regulations

2.—(1) The State Pension Credit Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003(5) shall be amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) and (3).

(2) In regulation 10 (assessed income period)—

(a)for paragraph (2)(a), there shall be substituted the following paragraph—

“(a)except where sub-paragraph (b) applies, the arrangements under which the assessed amount is paid contain no provision for periodic increases in the amount payable, or”;

(b)in paragraph (5B)(6), in the definition of “increased payment date”, the words “under the claimant’s retirement pension scheme or annuity contract” shall be omitted.

(3) At the end of regulation 16(7) (retirement pension income), there shall be added the following paragraph—

“(n)any payment made under the Financial Assistance Scheme Regulations 2005(8).”.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations amend the State Pension Credit Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003.

Regulation 2(2)(a) amends regulation 10(2)(a) removing the references to the claimant’s retirement pension scheme or annuity contract. The effect of this is that where the arrangements under which the assessed amount is paid contain no provision for periodic increases in the amount payable, the claimant’s assessed amount is deemed not to change during their assessed income period.

Regulation 2(2)(b) amends regulation 10(5B) removing the same references from the definition of “increased payment date”.

Regulation 2(3) amends regulation 16 adding financial assistance scheme payments to the descriptions of income listed as retirement pension income in section 16(1) of the State Pension Credit Act (Northern Ireland) 2002.

These Regulations make in relation to Northern Ireland only provision corresponding to provision contained in Regulations made by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in relation to Great Britain and accordingly, by virtue of section 149(3) of, and paragraph 10 of Schedule 5 to, the Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 (c. 8), are not subject to the requirement of section 149(2) of that Act for prior reference to the Social Security Advisory Committee.

These Regulations do not impose a charge on business.