13 November 2006
HANSON ANNOUNCES NEW AGE-DISCRIMINATION PENSION RULES
Social Development Minister David Hanson MP has announced changes to the pension aspects of the Age Discrimination Regulations.
The regulations were introduced in April 2006 but the pension aspects were postponed to give businesses time to adjust and to allow an informal consultation period. As a result of this, the Government has now made amendments. The Minister said:
"The Government has listened carefully to the concerns voiced by pension schemes across the United Kingdom and is bringing in these amended regulations to ensure clarity and give employers further exemptions to rely on.
"There were calls for a further delay, but the Government has to balance the risks of having no age discrimination requirements in place in respect of occupational pension schemes and the potential impact on employers and schemes.
"By bringing in these regulations now, we are supplying employers and schemes with a wide range of automatic, national level, justifications which will allow them to continue with many acceptable rules and practices. Only those rules that do not fall under the national level justifications or cannot be justified by the schemes themselves will have to change.
"We have also been asked to consider a 'compliance window', to give time for schemes to adjust. We are still exploring this option. We will also be issuing revised guidance to assist schemes in dealing with the age-discrimination provisions.
"The Government is committed to making sure these new regulations contribute towards the overall goal of encouraging more people to provide for their future."
NOTES TO EDITORS:
1. Employment Equality (Age) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006, coming into operation on 1 October 2006, implement the age strand of the European Employment Directive 2000/78/EC. The Regulations outlaw unjustified age discrimination in employment and vocational training, including pay and pensions. The overall lead on these Regulations lies with OFMDFM although DSD will be leading on the pensions aspects.
2. Article 6.1 of the Directive 2000/78/EC (establishing a framework for equality in employment and occupation) allows Member States to include exemptions in national legislation for age discriminatory practices which are objectively and reasonably justified. Article 6.2 of the Directive also allows exemptions in relation to some aspects of occupational pension schemes.
3. Schedule 1 of the Regulations sets out those age related aspects of the operation of occupational pension schemes that will continue to be allowable without having to be objectively justified by the schemes themselves. If a scheme wishes to continue with an age related practice not covered by Schedule 1, it will still be able to do so as long as the scheme itself can objectively justify the activity.
4. The regulations made today make amendments to Schedule 1, extending and clarifying the range of exemptions and thus allowing schemes to continue with a wider range of practices without having to develop scheme specific justifications.
5. Media enquiries to the Department for Social Development Press office on 028 9082 9496.
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