Debate contribution: Occupational Pension Schemes (Collective Money Purchase Schemes) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2024
Debate contribution by Mr Gordon Lyons on .
- MLA
- Mr Gordon Lyons
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 10 June 2024
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Executive Committee Business
- Heading
- Occupational Pension Schemes (Collective Money Purchase Schemes) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2024
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4494867
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I beg to move
Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. This rule is the current replacement of the original regulations, which came into operation on 1 August 2022. The rule provides for an authorisation and supervision regime for collective money purchase (CMP) schemes, which are commonly known as collective defined contribution (CDC) pension schemes. Currently, there are two primary types of pension schemes: defined benefits schemes, where the employer underwrites the pension benefits that are paid to employees; and defined contribution schemes, whereby individual members bear all the investment and longevity risks, and there are no employer guarantees regarding what the member may receive at retirement. Collective money purchase schemes provide an alternative in which the contributions of members and employers are pooled and invested with a view to delivering benefits at the level to which the scheme aspires. They offer potential benefits and economies of scale and the opportunity for greater investment in higher returning assets than are usually associated with defined contribution occupational pension schemes. Their collective nature means that investment and longevity risks are shared across the membership. As these schemes provide an income to pensioner members, there is no need for members to make complex financial decisions at the point of retirement. Income in retirement from collective money purchase schemes is subject to periodic adjustment, which is designed to achieve a balance between a scheme's assets and the amount required for the provision of benefits. Collective money purchase schemes are believed to be more sustainable for employers and employees alike, and they have the potential to offer better outcomes for pension scheme members. To build confidence in these new schemes, it is considered essential that only well-run schemes be allowed to operate. The regulations set out detailed requirements for the process for applying to the Pensions Regulator for authorisation, as well as details regarding the authorisation criteria that need to be met in order for collective money purchase schemes to operate. Those include criteria to ensure that only fit and proper persons are involved in key capacities relating to those schemes; that the design of the scheme is sound and complies with the legislative requirements; and that the scheme has sufficient financial resources to meet the costs of setting up and running the scheme and to take the necessary steps if things go wrong. If the Pensions Regulator is not satisfied that all the authorisation criteria are met, it cannot authorise the scheme. The regulations also set out requirements relating to the Pensions Regulator's supervisory role. The regulator can withdraw authorisation if it is no longer satisfied that the authorisation criteria are met. The regulations set out further detail on information to be provided to the regulator while the scheme is running, which will help the regulator to consider whether it is satisfied that the authorisation criteria for schemes continue to be met. The regulations also provide more detail about the actions that trustees must take if a scheme experiences a triggering event. Those are certain events, which are set out in primary legislation, that can pose a threat to the future of the scheme and the interests of members. The regulations also provide for consequential amendments to other sets of regulations: for example, to make provision for an alternative automatic enrolment quality test for collective money purchase schemes. These regulations, along with the occupational pension schemes regulations of 2022, implement the authorisation and supervisory regime for collective money purchase schemes.
Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I am grateful to the Deputy Chair and the Committee for their support and for the evident enthusiasm from the rest of the Chamber. I commend the motion to the House.
610 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.01 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.02 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.01 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.01 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.48 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.01 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-related subject | 1.00 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.00 |
| Sport (including the GAA), the arts and cultural bodies | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 10:37 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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