Citation and commencement

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Occupational Pension Schemes (Investment, and Assignment, Forfeiture, Bankruptcy etc.) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999 and shall, except for regulation 2(4), come into operation on 9th August 1999.

(2) Regulation 2(4) shall come into operation on 3rd July 2000.

Amendment of the Occupational Pension Schemes (Investment) Regulations

2.—(1) The Occupational Pension Schemes (Investment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996(2) shall be amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (4).

(2) In regulation 2(2) (schemes to which regulation 5 does not apply) for sub-paragraph (a) there shall be substituted the following sub-paragraph—

“(a)in which each of the members is a trustee of the scheme;”.

(3) In regulation 6 (investments to which restrictions do not apply)—

(a)in paragraph (8)(3)—

(i)after sub-paragraph (d) the word “and” shall be omitted; and

(ii)after sub-paragraph (e) there shall be inserted—

“and

(f)the loan was made and the security given before 9th August 1999.”;

(b)after paragraph (8) there shall be inserted the following paragraph—

“(8A) This regulation applies to any security given over a policy of insurance to secure obligations of the employer, or of any person who is connected with, or an associate of, the employer, where—

(a)the scheme provides benefits for any director of a company which is the employer;

(b)the policy is specifically allocated to the provision of benefits under the scheme for that director;

(c)the policy concerned is effected with an insurance company such as is mentioned in paragraph (2)(b) and the obligations secured are to the same insurance company;

(d)Inland Revenue requirements concerning the loan and the giving of the security have been satisfied; and

(e)the director mentioned in sub-paragraph (b) has agreed in writing to the security being given.”.

(4) In Part III—

(a)in the heading to that Part, the words “EXEMPTIONS FROM, AND MODIFICATION OF, REQUIREMENT TO OBTAIN” shall be omitted;

(b)after regulation 11 there shall be inserted the following regulation—

“Additional content of statement of investment principles

11A.  The matters prescribed for the purposes of Article 35(3)(f) (other matters on which trustees must state their policy in their statement of investment principles) are—

(a)the extent (if at all) to which social, environmental or ethical considerations are taken into account in the selection, retention and realisation of investments; and

(b)the trustees' policy (if any) in relation to the exercise of the rights (including voting rights) attaching to investments.”.

Amendment of the Occupational Pension Schemes (Assignment, Forfeiture, Bankruptcy etc.) Regulations

3.  In regulation 8 of the Occupational Pension Schemes (Assignment, Forfeiture, Bankruptcy etc.) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997(4) (exemptions from the inalienability and forfeiture provisions) for paragraph (1) there shall be substituted the following paragraphs—

“(1) If a scheme is one the trustees of which have made a loan in respect of which the conditions of regulation 6(8) of the Occupational Pension Schemes (Investment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 (investments to which the restrictions do not apply) are met, Article 89(1) shall not apply to the extent that it would prevent enforcement of the security referred to in sub-paragraph (b) of that regulation 6(8).

(1A) If a scheme is one the trustees of which have given or wish to give security, in respect of which the conditions of regulation 6(8A) of the Occupational Pension Schemes (Investment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 are met, Article 89(1) shall not apply to the extent that it would prevent that security being given or enforced.”.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations amend regulations made under the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 (“the Order”) in relation to occupational pensions schemes.

Regulation 1 relates to citation and commencement.

Regulation 2 and 3 amend, respectively, the Occupational Pension Schemes (Investment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 and the Occupational Pension Schemes (Assignment, Forfeiture, Bankrupty etc.) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997. They amend provisions governing the schemes and investments to which restrictions on employer-related investment do not apply, in particular in relation to small schemes and loans to employers (regulations 2(2) and (3) and 3).

Regulation 2(4) inserts, in relation to trust schemes, provision as to matters to be included in the statement of investment principles required under Article 35 of the Order. The statement must, in addition to the matters mentioned in Article 35, cover the extent to which social, environmental or ethical considerations are taken into account in investment decision making, and any policy the trustees have relating to the exercise of rights attaching to investments.

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.