S.I. No. 568/1998:

OCCUPATIONAL PENSION SCHEMES (FUNDING STANDARD) (AMENDMENT) (NO. 2) REGULATIONS, 1998

OCCUPATIONAL PENSION SCHEMES (FUNDING STANDARD) (AMENDMENT) (NO. 2) REGULATIONS, 1998

The Minister for Social, Community & Family Affairs, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 5 , 47 and 52 of the Pensions Act, 1990 (No. 25 of 1990), hereby makes the following Regulations:-

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Occupational Pension Schemes (Funding Standard) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations, 1998.

(2) These Regulations, the Occupational Pension Schemes (Funding Standard) Regulations, 1993 ( S.I. No. 419 of 1993 ) and the Occupational Pension Schemes (Funding Standard) (Amendment) Regulations, 1998 ( S.I. No. 320 of 1998 ) shall be construed together as one and may be cited together as the Occupational Pension Schemes (Funding Standard) Regulations 1993 to 1998.

2. In these Regulations:

"the Act" means the Pensions Act, 1990 (No. 25 of 1990);

"scheme" has the meaning assigned to it by section 2(1) of the Act;

"the Scheme" means the Construction Federation Operatives' Pension Scheme established under irrevocable trusts by a Deed dated the 17th day of February 1965 and made between Dublin Glass and Paint Company Limited and A. J. Jennings & Company Limited of the one part and the trustees therein named of the other part and approved by the Revenue Commissioners for the purposes of Chapter II of Part I of the Finance Act, 1972 on the 27th day of March 1985 and reference to the Scheme shall be construed as reference to the Scheme as modified, amended or extended.

3. Article 3 of the Occupational Pension Schemes (Funding Standard) Regulations, 1993 is hereby amended by the substitution for the definition of "self-investment" of the following definition:

"self-investment", in relation to a scheme, means investment of all or part of the resources of the scheme in the business of any one or more of the following persons

(i) the employer of any person employed in the relevant employment,

(ii) an affiliate of the employer of any person employed in the relevant employment,

(iii) any director or shadow director (within the meaning of section 27 of the Companies Act, 1990 (No. 33 of 1990) of the employer or of an affiliate, or of an associate of any such director or shadow director, and for this purpose "investment" shall be deemed to include investment in -

(a) land which is occupied or used by or let to;

(b) property, other than land, which is used for the purpose of any business carried on by;

(c) loans to;

(d) moneys due to the scheme held by any such person referred to in paragraphs (i), (ii) or (iii) of this definition;

(e) shares or other securities issued by any such person who is a body corporate,

but shall not include

(I) investment in land or buildings used for the purpose of any business carried on by any such person, which is let at full market value and which, for the purpose of calculating the resources of the scheme, is independently valued and is taken into account on the lower of its value on a vacant possession basis and its value subject to the letting; or

(II) investment in a cash deposit with any such person who is an authorised deposit taking institution; or

(III) investment in

(A) an insurance policy or contract of assurance issued by any such person who is the holder of an authorisation within the meaning of article 2 of the European Communities (Life Assurance) Framework Regulations, 1994 ( S.I. No. 360 of 1994 );

(B) a segregated fund or a managed fund or other collective investment fund, managed by any such person who is the holder of an authorisation issued by the Central Bank of Ireland pursuant to the Investment Intermediaries Act, 1995 (No. 11 of 1995) or any other appropriate authorisation;

(C) a unit trust scheme authorised by the Central Bank of Ireland under the Unit Trusts Act, 1990 (No. 37 of 1990) and managed by any such person;

(D) an investment company authorised by the Central Bank of Ireland under Part XIII of the Companies Act, 1990 (No. 33 of 1990);

(E) a collective investment scheme authorised by the Central Bank of Ireland under the European Communities (Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities) Regulations, 1989 ( S.I. No. 78 of 1989 ); or

(F) a collective investment scheme established in another Member State of the European Communities that has been authorised in accordance with Council Directive 85/611/EEC of 20 December 1985

Provided that "investment" shall be deemed to include the proportion attributable to the resources of the scheme (whether directly or through any intervening fund) of any investment in the business of any such person -

(aa) by the manager of a segregated fund or a managed fund or other collective investment fund or by a unit trust scheme, an investment company or a collective investment scheme or

(bb) which is comprised in an investment fund to which an insurance policy or contract of assurance falling within Class III or Class VII of the classes of insurance specified in Annex I to the European Communities (Life Assurance) Framework Regulations, 1994 ( S.I. No. 360 of 1994 ) is linked;"

4. In the case of the Scheme paragraph 4 of the Third Schedule to the Act is hereby modified by the substitution for sub-paragraph (b) of the following sub-paragraph:

"(b) a benefit payable to or in respect of a member then in relevant employment whose reckonable service commenced before the commencement of Part IV being the greater of:

(i) the long service benefit payable on the basis of the rules of the Scheme in force at the effective date of the certificate, and

(ii) the long service benefit payable on the basis of the rules of the Scheme in force on the commencement of Part IV,

in respect of reckonable service completed before the 1st day of January, 1991, together with any other benefits payable on the death of the member entitled to long service benefit in respect of such period of reckonable service and on the basis of such rules, less, where under paragraph 3 the amount of benefits calculated in accordance with sub-paragraph (b)(i) of that paragraph exceeds the amount calculated in accordance with sub-paragraph (b)(ii) of that paragraph, the difference between these two amounts."

GIVEN under the Official Sea1 of the Minister for

Social, Community & Family Affairs, this _____

day of ____________, 1998

DERMOT AHERN

Minister for Social, Community & Family Affairs.

CHARLIE MCCREEVY

The Minister for Finance hereby consents to the making of the foregoing Regulations.

GIVEN under the Official Sea1 of the Minister for Finance, this _____ day of ____________, 1998.

Minister for Finance.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

These Regulations amend the Occupational Pension Schemes (Funding Standard) Regulations, 1993 ( S.I. No. 419 of 1993 ) in relation to self investment by occupational pension schemes and the Third Schedule of the Pensions Act, 1990 , in relation to the Construction Federation Operatives' Pension Scheme.

The effect of the Regulations in relation to self investment is to clarify the Regulations of 1993 by incorporating into their Article 3 an amended definition of self investment; this amended definition excludes from being regarded as self investment a number of categories of investment relevant to schemes whose sponsoring employer is in the financial sector.

The effect of the Regulations in relation to the Construction Federation Operatives' Pension Scheme is to modify, in its case, the method by which certain liabilities are calculated for the purpose of meeting the funding standard requirements under Part IV of the Pensions Act.