State Pension Credit Act (Northern Ireland) 2002

Other interpretation provisions

17.—(1) In this Act—

“the 1998 Order” means the Social Security (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 (NI 10);

“the Administration Act” means the Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 (c. 8);

“appropriate minimum guarantee” shall be construed in accordance with section 2(3);

“assessed income period” shall be construed in accordance with sections 6 and 9;

“capital” shall be construed in accordance with section 15;

“claimant” means a claimant for state pension credit;

“the Contributions and Benefits Act” means the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 (c. 7);

“the Department” means the Department for Social Development;

“earnings” has the same meaning as in Parts I to V of the Contributions and Benefits Act (see sections 3(1) and 112, and the definition of “employment” in section 121(1), of that Act);

“element”, in relation to the claimant’s retirement provision, shall be construed in accordance with section 7(6);

“entitled”, in relation to state pension credit, shall be construed in accordance with—

(and, in relation to any other benefit within the meaning of section 1 of the Administration Act or Article 27 of the 1998 Order, in accordance with that section or that Article or (as the case may be) both that section and that Article in addition to any other conditions relating to that benefit);

“foreign social security benefit” means any benefit, allowance or other payment which is paid under the law of a country outside the United Kingdom and is in the nature of social security;

“foreign war disablement pension” means any retired pay, pension, allowance or similar payment granted by the government of a country outside the United Kingdom—

“foreign war widow’s or widower’s pension” means any pension, allowance or similar payment granted to a widow or widower by the government of a country outside the United Kingdom—

“guarantee credit” shall be construed in accordance with sections 1 and 2;

“income” shall be construed in accordance with section 15;

“married couple” means a man and a woman who are married to each other and are members of the same household;

“occupational pension scheme” has the meaning given by section 1 of the Pension Schemes Act;

“pensionable age” has the meaning given by the rules in paragraph 1 of Schedule 2 to the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 (NI 22) (equalisation of pensionable ages for men and women);

“the Pension Schemes Act” means the Pension Schemes (Northern Ireland) Act 1993 (c. 49);

“personal pension scheme” means a personal pension scheme—

“prescribed” means specified in, or determined in accordance with, regulations;

“the qualifying age” has the meaning given by section 1(6);

“regulations” means regulations made by the Department;

“retirement pension income” shall be construed in accordance with section 16;

“retirement provision” shall be construed in accordance with section 7(6);

“savings credit” shall be construed in accordance with sections 1 and 3;

“social security benefits” means benefits payable under the enactments relating to social security in any part of the United Kingdom;

“standard minimum guarantee” shall be construed in accordance with section 2(3) to (5) and (9);

“statutory provision” has the meaning assigned to it by section 1(f) of the Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 (c. 33);

“unmarried couple” means a man and a woman who are not married to each other but are living together as husband and wife otherwise than in prescribed circumstances;

“war disablement pension” means—

“war widow’s or widower’s pension” means—

“working tax credit” means a working tax credit under the Tax Credits Act 2002 (c. 21) to which a person is entitled whether alone or jointly with another.

(2) Regulations may make provision for the purposes of this Act—

(a)as to circumstances in which persons are to be treated as being or not being members of the same household;

(b)as to circumstances in which persons are to be treated as being or not being severely disabled.

(3) The following provisions of the Contributions and Benefits Act, namely—

(a)section 168 (references to Northern Ireland or United Kingdom to include reference to adjacent territorial waters, etc.), and

(b)section 169 (meaning of attaining an age, etc.),

shall apply for the purposes of this Act as they apply for the purposes of that Act.