Paid-up benefit

A benefit secured for an individual member under a contract of insurance whose contributions have ceased to be payable in respect of that member. One form of deferred benefit.

Paid-up personal pension plan

This is a personal pension plan to which you no longer pay contributions and from which you have yet to draw a benefit.

Paid-up scheme

A scheme where no further contributions are being paid, but whose assets continue to be held by the trustees and applied under its rules.

Participating employer

An employer whose employees have a right to be members of a scheme. Used where schemes cater for more than one employer.

Passive investment management

A style of portfolio management that links the investments to a particular index or indices, so that their value tracks changes in that index or those indices.

Past service

Service before a given date. Frequently used to indicate service with the employer before the members entry into the pension scheme.

Past service benefit

The benefit granted in respect of past service.

Past service reserve

A term describing the present value of all benefits accrued to the date of the calculation, by reference to projected earnings.

Pay parity

A term used to describe the system of increasing pensions in payment and deferred pensions in line with the pay for the post held by the scheme member before retirement or leaving service, as appropriate.

Pay-as-you-go

Often abbreviated to PAYG, this is the method of financing pension promises out of the current income of the employer, there being no advance funding of the pension liabilities. It is used for social welfare schemes and for many (though not all) public sector occupational schemes. See also "unfunded scheme".

Pension adjustment order

An order made following a decree of judicial separation or divorce whereby the court adjusts a member's pension rights in favour of his/her spouse/civil partner or a dependent child.

Pension fund

This is the assets of the pension scheme, but the term is very often used for the scheme itself.

Pension plan

Another term for pension scheme.

Pension scheme

An arrangement, other than accident insurance, to provide pension and/or other benefits for members on leaving service or retirement and for the member's dependants in the event of death.

Pensionable earnings/pensionable salary

The earnings on which benefits and/or contributions are calculated.

Pensionable employment

Employment may be referred to as pensionable if the individual is a member of an occupational pension scheme as a consequence of that employment.

Pensionable service

The period of service which is taken into account in calculating the pension benefit.

Pensioneer trustee

An individual or body corporate involved with pension schemes and accepted under Revenue requirements as a trustee of a small self-administered scheme or small member controlled scheme.

Pensioner

A member who is currently receiving payment of a pension from a pension scheme.

Pensioner member

A person being paid from a pension scheme (also called a pensioner).

Pensions (Amendment) Act, 1996

An Act which introduced extensive amendments to the, Pensions Act 1990, extended the powers of the Pensions Authority and introduced “whistle-blowing”.

Pensions (Amendment) Act, 2002

An Act which extended the Pensions Act, increased preservation rights, introduced PRSAs and established the office of the Pensions Ombudsman.

Pensions Act

An Act of 1990 for the regulation of pension schemes, which provides for preservation of benefits, a minimum funding standard in the case of defined benefit schemes, disclosure of information, equal treatment, defines the duties and responsibilities of trustees and establishes a Pensions Authority to supervise the operation of the Act. The Act has been considerably amended and extended.

Pensions Authority

The statutory body set up under the Pensions Act to monitor and supervise the operation of the Pensions Act and pension developments generally.

Pensions Data Register (PDR)

The Authority’s Pensions Data Register (PDR) is the national register of pension schemes.  PDR holds data on all occupational pension schemes and allows Registered Administrators (RAs) and interested parties (external users) to manage and submit data electronically through an Online Services Portal (OSP) to the Authority.  PDR provides the Authority with the capability to fully administer the register and all recorded information via a comprehensive back office application (BOA). The desktop application is deployed across the Authority and is used by staff on a daily basis.

Data that can be submitted through PDR includes:  

• Scheme registrations
• Annual Scheme Information (ASI) submissions
• Actuarial Funding Certificate (AFC) submissions
• Funding Standard Reserve Certificate (FSRC) submissions
• Annual Actuarial Data Returns (AADR)
• Scheme fee payments
• Scheme data amendments and updates (e.g. names of trustees, etc.)

Pensions Ombudsman

An officer appointed under the Pensions Act to investigate and determine complaints or disputes involving occupational pension schemes and PRSAs, to award financial redress, where appropriate, and to decide disputes of fact or law.

Permanent health insurance

One of the terms for prolonged disability insurance.

Personal pension plan

A policy taken out with an insurance company in order to provide benefits in retirement. These may be taken out by those who are self-employed or who are in non-pensionable employment. There are two forms of personal pension plans, a Retirement Annuity Contract (RAC) and a Personal Retirement Savings Account (PRSA).

Personal retirement bond

A personal retirement bond is a special type of personal pension plan, to which the only premium payment is a transfer value from a previous scheme. The benefits available from a personal retirement bond at retirement age depend on the investment return achieved during the period between the payment of the contribution and retirement.

Personal Retirement Savings Account (PRSA)

A PRSA is a personal pension plan that you take out with an authorised PRSA provider. It is like an investment account that you use to save for your retirement. PRSAs are a type of defined contribution scheme. You make regular contributions to your pension, and a proportion of these are tax deductible.  A register of authorised PRSA providers and their approved PRSA products is available on the Authority's website.

Pooled funds (also known as "managed funds")

These are collective investment schemes in which investors' money is pooled to buy a portfolio of assets, including government bonds, deposits, property and stocks. See also "unit linked investment".

PPS number

Personal public service number – a unique reference number for each person in the State that identifies the person for all matters related to tax, social insurance, and social welfare benefits.

Preliminary poll

A poll held under the member trustee regulations to determine whether members wish to appoint member trustees by means of the standard arrangement or accept an alternative arrangement offered by the employer.

Preservation

Describes the obligation which trustees have under the Pensions Act to retain benefits for scheme members who have completed two years' qualifying service since 1 January 1991 and finished their employment after 1 June 2002 or completed at least five years' qualifying service (two since 1991) and finished their employment before 1 June 2002.

Preserved benefits

These are the retirement benefits that a scheme member retains when they have completed two years' qualifying service since 1 January 1991 and finished their employment after 1 June 2002 or completed at least five years' qualifying service (two since 1991) and finished their employment before 1 June 2002.

Principal employer (also known as "the sponsoring employer")

Commonly used in scheme documentation for the particular participating employer which is given special powers or duties in areas such as the appointment of trustees, rule amendments and winding up. Usually the employer that started the scheme or, in a scheme catering for many unrelated employers, one chosen as a proxy for all.

Principle of equal pension treatment

This principle dictates that there shall be no discrimination on any of the nine discriminatory grounds in respect of any rule of a scheme. The nine discriminatory grounds are gender, marital status, family status, sexual orientation, religious belief, age, disability, race and membership of the travelling community.

Priority liabilities

Liabilities which are given precedence by the scheme rules in a winding up. Scheme rules are, however, overridden by the statutory priorities in Part IV of the Pensions Act.

Privately invested scheme

A description often applied to a self-administered scheme.

Prolonged disability insurance

An insurance contract taken out by an employer and/or by an employee, designed to pay an income in the event of an employee becoming disabled on a long-term basis.

Proprietary director

A person who, within 3 years of retirement, death or leaving service, held more than 5% of the voting shares in the employer or its parent company. Shares held by a spouse and minor children are counted, as are shares held by a trust to which the director concerned had transferred shares. Proprietary directors qualify to invest in ARFs on retirement.

Prospective members

An employee who is or will be eligible to join the scheme.

PRSA AVC

A PRSA designed to be used for additional voluntary contributions by members of occupational pension schemes.

PRSA provider

An authorised investment firm, life assurance company or credit institution which produces, markets or sells PRSA products.

PRSI

A shortened name for Pay Related Social Insurance, whereby workers earning an income pay contributions to the Social Insurance Fund. In return, they are covered for certain benefits, such as a State pension.

Public authority pension scheme

A statutory scheme to which Section 776 of the Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997, applies or a scheme where benefits are paid for in whole or in part from central funds or moneys voted by the Oireachtas, and which provide for an appeal to a Minister for the resolution of disputes prior to referral to the Pensions Ombudsman.

Public sector pension scheme

An occupational pension scheme for employees of central or local government, statutory and other semi-state bodies. Many of these schemes are not funded and pension benefits are paid as they fall due by the State from current spending.

Purchased life annuity

An annuity purchased privately by an individual is different from the type of annuity purchased by pension scheme trustees, which are often described as “compulsory” annuities. A purchased life annuity is purchased from personal assets rather than from the proceeds of a pension scheme. Therefore, the legislation provides that part of the instalment payments of a purchased life annuity are exempt from income tax, being treated as a return of those personal assets.