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Amendment of section 49 of Principal Act.
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34.— Section 49 of the Principal Act is amended by—
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(a) substituting the following subsection for subsection (1):
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“(1) Where, in accordance with the provisions of section 43, the trustees of a scheme (other than a regulatory own funds scheme)—
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(a) submit an actuarial funding certificate which certifies that at the effective date of the certificate the scheme does not satisfy the funding standard, or
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(b) on or after 1 January 2016, submit a funding standard reserve certificate which certifies that at the effective date of the certificate the scheme does not satisfy the funding standard reserve,
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they shall, subject to regulations under subsection (2A), submit to the Board a proposal (in this Part referred to as a ‘funding proposal’) in accordance with the provisions of this section.”,
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(b) substituting the following subsection for subsection (2):
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“(2) A funding proposal shall—
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(a) contain a proposal designed to ensure that, in the opinion of the actuary—
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(i) the scheme could reasonably be expected to satisfy the funding standard at the effective date of the next actuarial funding certificate or any later date specified under subsection (3) or (3B) where the funding proposal is submitted before 1 January 2016 and the effective date of the next actuarial funding certificate or any later date specified under subsection (3) or (3B) is before that date, and
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(ii) in any other case, the scheme could reasonably be expected to satisfy the funding standard at the effective date of the next actuarial funding certificate or any later date specified under subsection (3) or (3B) and the funding standard reserve at the effective date of the next funding standard reserve certificate or any later date specified under subsection (3B),
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and
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(b) comply with regulations made under subsection (2A),
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(c) be certified by the actuary as meeting the requirements of paragraph (a),
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(d) be signed by or on behalf of the employer and by or on behalf of the trustees of the scheme, in each case signifying agreement to the proposal, and
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(e) be submitted by the trustees of the scheme with the actuarial funding certificate or funding standard reserve certificate to which it relates.”,
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(c) substituting the following subsection for subsection (2A):
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“(2A) Regulations under this section may—
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(a) require the actuary, in certifying a funding proposal under subsection (2) or the failure of the scheme to satisfy the funding standard in accordance with subsection (3), to comply with any applicable professional guidance issued by the Society of Actuaries in Ireland and specified in the regulations or with any other applicable guidance issued by any other person (including the Board or the Minister) and specified in the regulations,
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(b) require the trustees to comply with any applicable guidance issued by any person (including the Board or the Minister), and specified in the regulations, setting out—
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(i) the requirements with which a funding proposal shall comply, and
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(ii) the terms on and the circumstances in which the trustees are required to notify the Board of a failure by any person to comply with a term of a funding proposal,
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(c) prescribe the terms on and circumstances in which—
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(i) a date later than the effective date of the next actuarial funding certificate or next funding standard reserve certificate may be specified by the Board in accordance with subsection (3B),
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(ii) the trustees are not required to submit a funding proposal under subsection (1), and
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(iii) the Board may, by notice in writing to the trustees, declare that a funding proposal is no longer a valid funding proposal for the purposes of this section where there has been a failure to comply with a term of the funding proposal or the trustees of the scheme so request,
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and
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(d) prescribe guidance issued by any person (including the Board or the Minister) in respect of the matters specified in subparagraphs (i) to (iii) of paragraph (c).”,
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(d) in subsection (3) by substituting—
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(i) “Before 1 June 2012, subject to regulations under this section” for “Subject to Regulations under this section”, and
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(ii) “(2)(a)(i)” for “(2)(a)”,
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(e) in subsection (3A) by substituting “(b), (c), (d) or (e)” for “(b), (c) or (d)”,
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(f) inserting the following new subsection after subsection (3A):
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“(3B) On or after 1 June 2012, the Board on application to it in that behalf by the trustees of a scheme (other than a regulatory own funds scheme) may, in relation to the scheme, on the terms and in the circumstances prescribed or set out in guidance prescribed by regulations made under subsection (2A)—
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(a) for the purposes of subsection (2)(a)(i) specify a date later than the effective date of the next actuarial funding certificate, and
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(b) for the purposes of subsection (2)(a)(ii) specify a date later than the effective date of the next actuarial funding certificate or funding standard reserve certificate.”,
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and
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(g) in subsection (4) by inserting the following after “1997”:
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“or, where the Board is of the opinion that there is no such principal employer or that it is not possible to identify such employer, such other employer or employers participating in the scheme as the Board, in its absolute discretion, may, on application to it by the trustees of the scheme, specify and notify in writing to the trustees”.
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