Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Social Security (Retirement Pensions and Graduated Retirement Benefit) (Widowers and Civil Partnership) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005 and shall come into operation—

(a)for the purposes of regulations 3 and 5, on 6th April 2006 immediately after regulation 2(4) of the Social Security (Claims and Payments) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005(5) and regulation 2(8) of the Social Security (Shared Additional Pension) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005(6) have come into operation;

(b)for the purposes of regulation 4(10), in so far as it applies in relation to paragraphs 17 and 19 of Schedule 1 to the Social Security (Graduated Retirement Benefit) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005(7), on 6th April 2006; and

(c)for all other purposes, on 5th December 2005.

Amendment of the Social Security (Graduated Retirement Benefit) (No. 2) Regulations

2.—(1) The Social Security (Graduated Retirement Benefit) (No. 2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1978(8) shall be amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (5).

(2) In regulation 1A(c)(9) (application of section 135 of the Administration Act), for “widows and widowers” there shall be substituted “widows, widowers and surviving civil partners”.

(3) In regulation 2(2) (continuation in force of sections 35, 36 and 110(1) of the Act of 1966)—

(a)at the end of sub-paragraph (b), “and” shall be omitted; and

(b)after sub-paragraph (c) there shall be added—

“; and

(d)to extend section 36 of the Act of 1966(10) (increase of woman’s retirement pension by reference to her late husband’s graduated retirement benefit) to civil partners and surviving civil partners”.

(4) In Schedule 1 (which sets out sections 35 and 36 of the National Insurance Act (Northern Ireland) 1966 as continued in force by those regulations), in section 36 (special provisions as to graduated retirement benefit for widows and widowers)—

(a)in subsection (1)(11)—

(i)after paragraph (b) there shall be inserted—

“; or

(c)where a person, having paid graduated contributions as an insured person, dies on or after 5th December 2005 leaving a surviving civil partner, and they have both attained pensionable age at the time of his or her death”,

(ii)for “widow or widower” there shall be substituted “widow, widower or surviving civil partner”, and

(iii)after “former spouse” there shall be inserted “or former civil partner”;

(b)in subsection (2)(12), after “deceased spouse's” (in each place where it occurs) there shall be inserted “or deceased civil partner's”;

(c)in subsection (3), after “marriage” there shall be inserted “or civil partnership”; and

(d)in subsection (4)—

(i)after “marries” there shall be inserted “, or as the case may be, a civil partner he or she forms a civil partnership with,”,

(ii)after “married” there shall be inserted “or who has formed a civil partnership more than once or who has been both married and formed a civil partnership”, and

(iii)after “spouses” there shall be inserted “or civil partners”.

(5) In Schedule 3 (which sets out regulations 2 and 3 of the 1978 Regulations as modified by those regulations), in regulation 3 (graduated retirement benefit for persons who have been married more than once)—

(a)in the heading, after “persons who have been married more than once” there shall be inserted “or have formed more than one civil partnership or who have been both married and formed a civil partnership”;

(b)after “person who has been married more than once” there shall be inserted “or has formed more than one civil partnership or who has been both married and formed a civil partnership”;

(c)after “second or subsequent spouse” there shall be inserted “or second or subsequent civil partner”;

(d)after “first-mentioned spouse” there shall be inserted “or first-mentioned civil partner”.

Amendment of the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations

3.  In regulation 30 of the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987(13) (payments on death)—

(a)in paragraph (5)(14) (posthumous claims), for “(5F)” there shall be substituted “(5G)”; and

(b)for paragraphs (5A) to (5F)(15) there shall be substituted the following paragraphs—

“(5A) Subject to paragraphs (5B) to (5G), a claim may be made in accordance with paragraph (5) on behalf of the deceased for a Category A or Category B retirement pension or graduated retirement benefit provided that the deceased was not married or in a civil partnership on the date of his death.

(5B) Subject to paragraphs (5C) to (5G), a claim may be made in accordance with paragraph (5) on behalf of the deceased for a Category A or Category B retirement pension or graduated retirement benefit where the deceased was a married woman or a civil partner on the date of death if the deceased’s widower or surviving civil partner was under pensionable age on that date and due to attain pensionable age before 6th April 2010.

(5C) Where a claim is made for a shared additional pension under paragraph (5) or for a retirement pension or graduated retirement benefit under paragraphs (5) and (5A) or (5B), in determining the benefit to which the deceased would have been entitled if he had claimed within the prescribed time, the prescribed time shall be the period of 3 months ending on the date of his death and beginning with any day on which, apart from satisfying the condition of making a claim, he would have been entitled to the pension or benefit.

(5D) Paragraph (5E) applies where, throughout the period of 12 months ending with the day before the death of the deceased person, his entitlement to a Category A or a Category B retirement pension, shared additional pension or graduated retirement benefit was deferred in accordance with, as the case may be—

(a)section 55 of the Contributions and Benefits Act(16) (pension increase or lump sum where entitlement to retirement pension is deferred);

(b)section 55C of that Act(17) (pension increase or lump sum where entitlement to shared additional pension is deferred); or

(c)section 35(4A) of the National Insurance Act (Northern Ireland) 1966(18) (deferment of graduated retirement benefit).

(5E) Where a person claims under paragraph (5) or under paragraphs (5) and (5A) or (5B), the deceased shall be treated as having made an election in accordance with, as the case may be—

(a)paragraph A1(1)(a) of Schedule 5 to the Contributions and Benefits Act(19) (election to have an increase of pension) where paragraph (5D)(a) applies;

(b)paragraph 1(1)(a) of Schedule 5A to that Act(20) (election to have an increase of a shared additional pension) where paragraph (5D)(b) applies; or

(c)paragraph 12(1)(a) of Schedule 1 to the Social Security (Graduated Retirement Benefit) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005 (election to have an increase of benefit) where paragraph (5D)(c) applies.

(5F) Paragraph (5G) applies where—

(a)the deceased person was a widow, widower or surviving civil partner (“W”) who was married to, or in a civil partnership with, the other party to the marriage or civil partnership (“S”) when S died;

(b)throughout the period of 12 months ending with the day before S’s death, S’s entitlement to a Category A or a Category B retirement pension or graduated retirement benefit was deferred in accordance with, as the case may be, paragraph (5D)(a) or (c); and

(c)W made no statutory election in consequence of the deferral.

(5G) Where a person claims under paragraphs (5) and (5A) the deceased (“W”) shall be treated as having made an election in accordance with, as the case may be—

(a)paragraph 3C(2)(a) of Schedule 5 to the Contributions and Benefits Act(21) (election to have an increase of pension), where paragraph (5D)(a) applies; or

(b)paragraph 17(2)(a) of Schedule 1 to the Social Security (Graduated Retirement Benefit) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005 (election to have an increase in benefit), where paragraph (5D)(c) applies.”.

Amendment of the Social Security (Graduated Retirement Benefit) Regulations

4.—(1) Schedule 1 to the Social Security (Graduated Retirement Benefit) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005 (further provisions replacing section 35(4) of the 1966 Act: increases of graduated retirement benefit and lump sums) shall be amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (10).

(2) In paragraph 7 (increase or lump sum where pensioner’s deceased spouse has deferred entitlement)—

(a)in the heading, after “deceased spouse” there shall be inserted “or deceased civil partner”;

(b)in sub-paragraph (1)(a), for “widow or widower” there shall be substituted “widow, widower or surviving civil partner”; and

(c)in sub-paragraph (1)(b)—

(i)after “married to” there shall be inserted “or in a civil partnership with”, and

(ii)after “marriage” there shall be inserted “or civil partnership”.

(3) In paragraph 8 (increase where pensioner’s deceased spouse has deferred entitlement)—

(a)in the heading, after “deceased spouse” there shall be inserted “or deceased civil partner”; and

(b)in sub-paragraph (1)—

(i)for “widow or widower” there shall be substituted “widow, widower or surviving civil partner”,

(ii)after “married to” there shall be inserted “or in a civil partnership with”, and

(iii)after “marriage” there shall be inserted “or civil partnership”.

(4) In paragraph 9 (entitlement to lump sum where pensioner’s deceased spouse has deferred entitlement)—

(a)in the heading, after “deceased spouse” there shall be inserted “or deceased civil partner”; and

(b)in sub-paragraph (2), after “widowed person's” there shall be inserted “or surviving civil partner's”.

(5) In paragraph 10 (calculation of widowed person’s lump sum)—

(a)in the heading, after “widowed person's” there shall be inserted “or surviving civil partner's”;

(b)in sub-paragraph (1), after “widowed person's” there shall be inserted “or surviving civil partner's”; and

(c)in sub-paragraph (2), in the definition of “S”, after “marriage” there shall be inserted “or civil partnership”.

(6) In paragraph 17 (choice between increase and lump sum where person’s deceased spouse has deferred entitlement to graduated retirement benefit)—

(a)in the heading, after “deceased spouse” there shall be inserted “or deceased civil partner”;

(b)in sub-paragraph (1)(a), for “widow or widower” there shall be substituted “widow, widower or surviving civil partner”; and

(c)in sub-paragraph (1)(b)—

(i)after “married to” there shall be substituted “or in a civil partnership with”, and

(ii)after “marriage” there shall be inserted “or civil partnership”.

(7) In paragraph 18 (increase where person’s deceased spouse has deferred entitlement to graduated retirement benefit)—

(a)in the heading, after “deceased spouse” there shall be inserted “or deceased civil partner”;

(b)in sub-paragraph (1)—

(i)for “widow or widower” (in each place where it occurs) there shall be substituted “widow, widower or surviving civil partner”,

(ii)after “married to” there shall be inserted “or in a civil partnership with”, and

(iii)after “marriage” there shall be inserted “or civil partnership”.

(8) In paragraph 19 (entitlement to lump sum where person’s deceased spouse has deferred entitlement to graduated retirement benefit)—

(a)in the heading, after “deceased spouse” there shall be inserted “or deceased civil partner”; and

(b)in sub-paragraph (2), after “widowed person's” there shall be inserted “or surviving civil partner's”.

(9) In paragraph 20 (calculation of widowed person’s lump sum)—

(a)in the heading and in sub-paragraph (1), after “widowed person's” there shall be inserted “or surviving civil partner's”; and

(b)in sub-paragraph (2), in the definition of “S”, after “marriage” there shall be inserted “or civil partnership”.

(10) After paragraph 20 there shall be inserted the following paragraphs—

“Transitional provision relating to widower’s entitlement to increase of graduated retirement benefit or lump sum

20A.  In the case of a widower who attains pensionable age before 6th April 2010, paragraphs 17 to 19 shall not apply unless he was over pensionable age when his wife died.

Transitional provision relating to civil partner’s entitlement to increase of graduated retirement benefit or lump sum

20B.  In the case of a civil partner who attains pensionable age before 6th April 2010, paragraphs 17 to 19 shall not apply unless he was over pensionable age when his civil partner died.”.

Revocations

5.  Regulation 2(4)(b) of the Social Security (Claims and Payments) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005(22) and regulation 2(8) of the Social Security (Shared Additional Pension) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005(23) are hereby revoked.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations make provision relating to widowers, civil partners and surviving civil partners.

Regulation 1 provides for the citation and commencement of the Regulations.

Regulations 2 and 4 amend, respectively, the Social Security (Graduated Retirement Benefit) (No. 2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1978 and the Social Security (Graduated Retirement Benefit) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005. These amendments extend to surviving civil partners the same inheritance rights that apply to widowers in respect of a deceased person’s graduated retirement benefit, including any increments or lump sum in a case where the deceased had deferred his or her entitlement to that benefit.

Regulation 3 amends regulation 30 of the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987 which makes provision for claims for a Category A or B retirement pension, shared additional pension or graduated retirement benefit to be made on behalf of a person who has died where the person had deferred entitlement to the pension or benefit. It provides that a claim can be made on behalf of a deceased person if they were not married or in a civil partnership at the time of their death. It also provides that a claim on behalf of a deceased spouse or civil partner for Category A or B retirement pension or graduated retirement benefit can be made where the widower or surviving civil partner is under pension age at the time of the death and due to reach pension age before 6th April 2010.

Regulation 5 makes consequential revocations.

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, are not subject to the requirement of section 149(2) of that Act for prior reference to the Social Security Advisory Committee.