Cap. 514 Art. 37Minister’s powers.

(1) The Minister, acting on the advice of the competent authority, may make regulations to give better effect to the provisions of this Act, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing may, by such regulations, in particular, do any of the following:

(a) amend any of the definitions contained in article 2 and amend the Schedule;

(b) regulate retirement schemes and retirement funds, as well as the services provided and activities carried on in conjunction therewith or in relation thereto and provide for any matter he may deem expedient and may in particular grant rights to the members, beneficiaries and investors in respect of such retirement schemes and funds, as the case may be, and regulate the exercise thereof; provide for and regulate the payment of such fees and other charges as may be prescribed; regulate any fees and, or any other charges imposed directly or indirectly on members, beneficiaries or investors; provide for the safekeeping and oversight duties, and custody of the property of retirement schemes and retirement funds; provide for the protection of the property of the retirement scheme or retirement fund in the event of the insolvency of the custodian as may be applicable, and for the purpose of this paragraph "custodian" shall include a sub-custodian; provide for and regulate the appointment of employee representation in the governance of retirement schemes; regulate the appointment and, or removal of a Retirement Scheme Administrator or any other person, by whatever name designated, responsible for the operation, administration and management of the retirement scheme and, or retirement fund; establish the nature and classification of retirement schemes and funds and prescribe conditions pertaining thereto; regulate the dissolution and, or liquidation of retirement schemes and retirement funds;

(c) establish or make other arrangements for the compensation of members and, or beneficiaries or investors in cases where a retirement scheme or retirement fund is unable to satisfy claims in respect of any liability incurred by it; regulate the management distinguish between different classes of investors, members or beneficiaries and exclude certain classes from compensation and to make provision for the regulation of and for other aspects related to such arrangements and may moreover provide that such arrangements as may be prescribed shall have a legal personality distinct from that of the contributors thereto and of the competent authority and provide for the judicial and legal representation thereof; and such arrangements shall be exempt from the payment of income tax as from the date of establishment of such retirement schemes or retirement funds;

(d) prescribe the circumstances when and the conditions under which a scheme document becomes binding on members and beneficiaries;

(e) define the criteria for determining whether a holding is an indirect holding for the purposes of determining whether a qualifying shareholding exists;

(f) exempt any person, retirement scheme and, or retirement fund (including such class or type or description thereof as may be prescribed) or other licence holders or advertisement from any one or more of the provisions of this Act and subject to such conditions or other requirements, including other forms of authorisation and notification procedures, as may be prescribed;

(g) regulate the segregation of the assets of retirement schemes and retirement funds and the provision of any matter consequential, incidental to or connected therewith;

(h) establish the circumstances when ring fencing measures may be applied and the measures and conditions applicable to retirement schemes and, or retirement funds in this regard;

(ha) regulate the restriction or prohibition of the free disposal of the assets of a retirement scheme falling within such description as may be prescribed, when in particular:

(i) that retirement scheme has failed to establish sufficient technical provisions in respect of the entire business or has insufficient assets to cover the technical provisions;

(ii) that retirement scheme has failed to hold any regulatory own funds as may be applicable.

(i) establish and regulate the maintenance of funding requirements by retirement schemes; prescribe regulations regarding the maintenance of a schedule of or a given level of benefits deals with surplus funds and underfunding;

(j) regulate the payment (including the time thereof), nature and amount of benefits which may or may not be paid to beneficiaries and, or members;

(k) provide for and regulate the payment by any person, body, retirement scheme or retirement fund, or service provider as the case may be, of licence fees or other fees and such other charges payable to the competent authority in respect of any matter provided for, by or under this Act or any regulations made under this article, as may be prescribed;

(l) transpose, implement and give effect to the provisions and requirements of the Occupational Pensions Directive and of the Solvency II Directive insofar as applicable to occupational pensions, and including any implementing measures, implementing technical standards, regulatory technical standards and similar measures issued thereunder as may be applicable to retirement schemes that have or may be issued thereunder;

(m) provide for and regulate the vesting, acquisition, preservation of retirement rights and any matter ancillary thereto;

(n) transpose, implement and, or give effect to the provisions and requirements of Directives, regulations and any other legislative measures of the European Union requiring transposition and, or implementation, as they may be amended from time to time, including any implementing measures that have been or may be issued thereunder and relating to licence holders and others as may be specified therein; any such regulations strictly related to the transposition or implementation as aforesaid may contain provisions which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act or of any other law, and for this purpose may provide that any provision in this Act or in any other law shall not apply to matters falling under the regulations, and in case of such inconsistency, such provisions in any such regulations shall prevail;

(o) provide for the application of specific provisions of the Occupational Pensions Directive to the occupational pensions provision business carried out by insurance undertakings authorised under the Insurance Business

Act carrying on long term business;

(p) provide for any matter incidental to or connected with any of the foregoing paragraphs;

(q) provide for any matter that may or is to be prescribed therein, may make different provision for different cases, circumstances or purposes and may give to the competent authority such powers of adaptation of the regulations as may be therein specified.

(4) Where regulations have been made in terms of this article, the competent authority may issue Pension Rules for the better carrying out and to better implement the provisions of the regulations.

(5) The exercise of any of the powers assigned under this article shall be subject to any obligations or rights arising from Malta’s international commitments.