Commentary on Sections Schedule 24 – Social security, child support and tax credits Part 5 - Amendments to the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 (c. 7)
829.Paragraphs 67 to 106 amend the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992.
830.Paragraph 67 amends section 20 to provide a revised description of Category B Retirement Pension “payable to a person by virtue of the contributions of a spouse or civil partner”.
831.Paragraph 68 amends section 30A dealing with the entitlement conditions for incapacity benefit where a person is over pension age. It extends the provision whereby account may be taken of the contributions of a deceased spouse to a deceased civil partner.
832.Paragraph 69 amends section 30B dealing with the rate of incapacity benefit where a person is over pension age and disregarding certain increases for spouses or civil partners in state retirement pension.
833.Paragraph 70 amends section 36 to ensure that surviving civil partners are eligible (in the same way as spouses) for bereavement payment on the basis of their deceased civil partner’s National Insurance contribution record. Paragraph 70(3) extends the rule that prevents bereavement payments benefits from being paid if the survivor is living together as husband and wife with a person of the opposite sex to the situation where the survivor is living together as if they were civil partners with a person of the same sex.
834.Paragraph 71 amends section 36A(2) so that sections 39A to 39C (provisions relating to widowed parent’s allowance and bereavement allowance) apply to civil partners as well as spouses.
835.Paragraph 72 amends section 37 to extend the rule whereby entitlement to widowed mother’s allowance (which continues to be paid to women widowed before April 2001) ceases if a widow remarries to the situation where a widow forms a civil partnership.
836.Paragraph 73 amends section 38 to extend the rule whereby entitlement to widow’s pension (which continues to be paid to women widowed before April 2001) ceases if a widow remarries to the situation where a widow forms a civil partnership.
837.Paragraph 74 amends section 39A to ensure that surviving civil partners are eligible (in broadly the same way as spouses) for widowed parent’s allowance on the basis of their deceased civil partner’s National Insurance contribution record. In order to be entitled the surviving civil partner must be entitled to child benefit or responsible for a child of the family or a woman who is pregnant by artificial means and was living with her deceased civil partner at the time of her civil partner’s death. Paragraphs 74(5) and 74(6) extend the rule that entitlement to widowed parent’s allowance ceases if the survivor remarries, to cases where the survivor forms a new civil partnership. Paragraph 74(7) extends the rule that prevents widowed parent’s allowance from being paid if the survivor is living together as husband and wife with a person of the opposite sex to the situation where the survivor is living together as if they were civil partners with a person of the same sex.
838.Paragraph 75 amends section 39B to ensure that surviving civil partners where there are no dependant children are eligible (in the same way as spouses) for bereavement allowance on the basis of their deceased civil partner’s National Insurance contribution record. Paragraphs 75(4) and 75(5) extend the rule that entitlement to bereavement allowance ceases if the survivor remarries, to cases where the survivor forms a new civil partnership. Sub-paragraph (6) extends the rule that prevents bereavement allowance from being paid if the survivor is living together as husband and wife with a person of the opposite sex to the situation where the survivor is living together as if they were civil partners with a person of the same sex.
839.Paragraph 76 amends section 39C to ensure that weekly bereavement benefits will be calculated in the same way for surviving civil partners as for surviving spouses.
840.Paragraph 77 amends section 46 to ensure that where a deceased civil partner dies under pension age additional pension payable with widowed parent’s allowance or state pension is calculated in the same way as for spouses.
841.Paragraph 78 amends section 48 so that where a marriage or civil partnership has terminated, the contributions of the former spouse or civil partner may be substituted for the period of the marriage or civil partnership to allow a person to qualify for a basic state pension. Where a person has been married or formed a civil partnership more than once, this applies only to the last marriage or civil partnership.
842.Paragraph 79 amends section 48A. Currently, a married woman (but not a married man) can use her husband's National Insurance contribution record to qualify for a lower rate (60 per cent) basic state pension when they have both reached state pension age. Amendments to this section ensure that civil partners (like married men) will be able to qualify for these pensions when their civil partners or wives who were born on or after 6 April 1950 reach state pension age. Because of the difference in state pension ages, this means that female civil partners will qualify from 2010 onwards and male civil partners from 2015 onwards. Where one spouse or civil partner dies after qualifying for these pensions, the rate increases to the full standard rate of basic pension plus at least half of any additional pension to which the deceased spouse or civil partner was entitled.
843.Paragraph 80 amends section 48B to provide that civil partners who reach pension age on or after 6 April 2010 will be able to qualify for a state pension by virtue of the contributions of their deceased civil partner, consisting of a basic pension plus additional pension (a percentage of SERPS depending on when the spouse reached pensionable age and 50 per cent of any State Second Pension).
844.Paragraph 81 amends section 48BB to provide for civil partners whose partners die before reaching pension age to be able to receive a state pension at any time if in the past they were entitled to a Bereavement Allowance or Widowed Parent’s Allowance when over age 45 and have not married or formed a civil partnership following the death. This is payable only as additional pension and, if age 45 to 54 when bereaved, it is reduced on a sliding scale. (These provisions will apply to civil partners from the implementation date).
845.Paragraph 82 amends section 51 to provide for civil partners to be able to receive a state pension based on their deceased civil partner’s contribution record if both civil partners are over state pension age when the first one dies. This provision will apply to civil partners who reach pensionable age between the implementation date and 5 April 2010. Thereafter section 48B applies.
846.Paragraph 83 amends section 51A so that where a civil partner is entitled to a reduced-rate category A state pension and a category B (lower rate) state pension, the category A entitlement can be topped-up to the rate of a full category B (lower rate) state pension.
847.Paragraph 84 amends section 52 so that where a civil partner is entitled to a reduced-rate category A state pension and a category B state pension payable by virtue of a deceased civil partner’s contribution record, the category A entitlement can be topped-up to the rate of a full standard category B basic state pension and any additional pension can be added up to the prescribed maximum.
848.Paragraph 85 amends section 60 so that where a civil partner dies as a result of an industrial injury or industrial disease and he has an incomplete contribution record, the contribution conditions are taken to be satisfied for the purpose of his surviving civil partner’s entitlement to any bereavement benefit or category B state pension.
849.Paragraph 86 amends section 61A so that civil partners and surviving civil partners are treated in the same way as spouses, widows and widowers for the purposes of contributions paid in error.
850.Paragraph 87 amends section 62 to ensure that the regulations that keep the graduated retirement benefit scheme in place may be amended to provide for surviving civil partners to be able to inherit, like spouses, half of any graduated retirement benefit to which their deceased civil partner was entitled, if they are both over pensionable age when the death occurs.
851.Paragraph 88(a) amends section 77(6)(a)(ii) so that where a child in respect of whom guardian’s allowance is payable is not living with the beneficiary, any contributions made by the civil partner of the beneficiary count towards the cost of providing for the child if the beneficiary and their civil partner are living together.
852.Paragraph 88(b) extends the power in section 77(8)(a) to modify by regulations the circumstances in which the conditions of entitlement to guardian’s allowance are satisfied in cases where a civil partnership has been dissolved.
853.Paragraph 89 amends section 82 to ensure that a woman’s civil partner will be treated in the same way as her spouse for the purposes of determining whether adult dependency increases are payable with maternity allowance.
854.Paragraph 90 amends section 83A to provide for civil partners to be treated in the same way as spouses for the purposes of determining whether adult dependency increases are payable with the state pension, from the date when the rules are equalised as between men and women in 2010.
855.Paragraph 91 amends section 85 to provide for adult dependency increases to be payable with category A retirement pension in respect of an adult childminder who is not the civil partner of the pensioner. (Provision is made only in respect of category A retirement pension because civil partners will not be able to qualify for category C retirement pensions as they are for people who were already over pensionable age in 1948).
856.Paragraph 92 amends section 113 to ensure that the provisions as to disqualification and suspension will apply to civil partners as they do to spouses.
857.Paragraph 93 amends section 114 to ensure that the rules set out in regulations that specify how to determine whether a person is maintaining another for the purposes of adult dependency increases will apply to civil partners as they do to spouses.
858.Paragraph 94 amends section 120 to provide for a voidable civil partnership which has been annulled to be treated for state pension purposes as a valid civil partnership which has been dissolved. This creates parity with the current position for marriage.
859.Paragraph 95 amends the definition of “relative” in section 121 to include a person related by civil partnership when determining whether a carer satisfies the conditions of entitlement for claiming Carer’s Allowance. Paragraph 88(3) inserts a new definition of “living together” in section 121 to ensure that, for the purposes of social security benefits, a couple who are “living together as if they were civil partners” will be treated in the same way as a couple in a civil partnership. A same-sex couple will be regarded as “living together as if they were civil partners” for the purposes of the legislation if (but only if) they would, if of opposite sexes, be regarded as living together as husband and wife.
860.Paragraph 96 amends section 123 by replacing references to “married or unmarried couple” with references to “couple”. Together with paragraph 92 which inserts a definition of “couple”, these amendments ensure that same-sex couples will be treated in the same way as married couple and opposite-sex unmarried couples living together as husband and wife for the purposes of entitlement to Income Support. In the case of a couple only one of them can be entitled to Income Support and the other’s needs and resources are also taken into account. Benefit is only payable when neither one of the couple is in remunerative work (defined as 16 hours per week paid work for the claimant and 24 hours a week paid work for the claimant’s partner).
861.Paragraph 97 amends section 125 to ensure that where one or both members of a same-sex couple are involved in a trade dispute Income Support will be calculated in the same way as for a married couple or an opposite-sex unmarried couple living together as husband and wife.
862.Paragraph 98 amends section 126 to ensure that on return to work following involvement in a trade dispute same-sex couples will be treated the same as married couples or opposite-sex unmarried couples living together as husband and wife for the purposes of income support.
863.Paragraph 99 inserts a new definition in section 133 so that for the purpose of Part 7 (income-related benefits) the term “couple” includes married couples, opposite-sex unmarried couples living together as husband and wife and same-sex couples who are civil partners or living together as if they were civil partners.
864.Paragraph 100 amends section 139(5) to allow the child benefit regulations to be amended in due course to allow contributions made, or expenditure incurred, by one civil partner towards the cost of providing for the child to be treated as made or incurred by the other civil partner with whom he or she is residing. This is necessary because the regulations currently provide that where one of two spouses living together is making contributions, or incurring expenditure in respect of the child, that contribution or expenditure may be treated as made or incurred by the other spouse.
865.Paragraph 101(2) amends section 141A(2) so that where a child dies and within the prescribed period following the child’s death the person entitled to child benefit in respect of the child also dies, the civil partner of the beneficiary, or if the beneficiary was a member of a cohabiting same-sex couple, the other member of the couple, will be entitled to child benefit for the remainder of the prescribed period.
866.Paragraph 101(3) defines for the purposes of section 141A(2) the terms “civil partnership” and “cohabiting same-sex couple”.
867.Paragraph 101(4) inserts subsection 141A(6) which provides that two people of the same sex will be treated as living together as if they were civil partners if, but only if, they would be regarded as living together as husband and wife if they were instead two people of the opposite sex.
868.Paragraph 102(2) amends section 146 so that the definition of “war widow” reflects the fact that certain war pensions will become available to surviving civil partners and they will continue to act as qualifying benefits for the pensioners’ Christmas bonus. Paragraph 102(3) amends section 146 so that references to “couple” in Part 10 (Christmas bonus) include same-sex couples.
869.Paragraph 103 inserts a reference to “civil partner” and “civil partnership” in subsection (4) of section 167ZL to ensure civil partners are entitled to statutory adoption pay in the same way as spouses.
870.Paragraph 104 amends Schedule 4A to provide that the calculation of state second pension for surviving civil partners will be the same as for surviving spouses.
871.Paragraph 105 amends Schedule 7 to provide for account to be taken of civil partners or two persons of the same sex living together as if they were civil partners when determining increases of disablement pension or termination of industrial death benefit for widows.
872.Paragraph 106 amends paragraph 3 of Schedule 9 to the Act so except where regulations otherwise provide, a person is excluded from entitlement to child benefit where the child is a civil partner.