The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Northern Ireland) (No. 2) Regulations 2020

Pension Schemes (Northern Ireland) Act 1993

40.—(1) The Pension Schemes (Northern Ireland) Act 1993(1) is amended as follows.

(2) In section 13(2) (minimum pensions for surviving spouses and civil partners)—

(a)after paragraph (b) insert—

“(ba)if the earner is a man, or a woman in a relevant gender change case, who has a guaranteed minimum under that section, the weekly rate of the surviving civil partner’s pension in the case of a surviving civil partner who is a woman will be not less than the widow’s guaranteed minimum;”, and

(b)in paragraph (c), at the beginning insert “subject to paragraph (ba),”.

(3) In section 13(12) (meaning of “relevant gender change case”), in paragraph (b), after “widow” insert “, or the civil partnership between the earner and her surviving civil partner,”.

(4) In section 20D (survivors’ benefits)—

(a)in subsection (3), before “a civil partner” insert “(subject to subsection (3A))”,

(b)after subsection (3) insert—

“(3A) The third benefit is that if the earner is a man, or a woman in a relevant gender change case, who is a civil partner and the earner dies (whether before or after attaining normal pension age) leaving a surviving civil partner who is a woman, she is entitled to a pension of at least half the value of the pension to which the earner would have been entitled by reference to employment during the period—

(a)beginning with 6th April 1978, and

(b)ending with 5th April 1997.”, and

(c)in subsection (4) (meaning of “relevant gender change case”), in paragraph (b), after “widow” insert “, or the civil partnership between the earner and her surviving civil partner,”.

(5) In section 33 (alteration of rules of contracted-out schemes)—

(a)in subsection (5)(d), after “with an earner” insert “, except for a surviving civil partner who is a woman in the case of an earner to whom subsection (5A) applies”,

(b)after subsection (5) insert—

“(5A) This subsection applies to an earner who is—

(a)a man, or

(b)a woman in a relevant gender change case.”, and

(c)in subsection (6) (meaning of “relevant gender change case”)—

(i)for the words from the beginning to “subsection (5)(c)” substitute “A reference in subsection (5)(c) or (d) or (5A)”, and

(ii)in paragraph (b), after “widow” insert “, or the civil partnership between the earner and her surviving civil partner,”.

(6) In section 34A (regulations about relevant gender change cases)—

(a)in subsection (2)(a), after “couples” insert “or civil partnerships where the civil partners are of the same sex”,

(b)in subsection (2)(b), after “couples” insert “or civil partners”, and

(c)in subsection (6)(c), after “couples” insert “, or civil partners who are of the same sex,”.