Friday 18 September 2020: In Cork City District Court on Wednesday 16 September 2020, Judge O’Leary convicted Rice Insulations Ltd for failing to remit employee pension contributions to the trustee of the Construction Workers Pension Scheme (CWPS), within the statutory timeframe pursuant to section 58A(1) of the Pensions Act 1990, as amended. The company with a registered address of 10 Nicholas Street, Off Douglas Street, Cork, was fined €300. The directors of the company, Liam Rice and Edward Rice were also convicted and both were fined €300. Costs of €340 were also awarded to the Authority.
Rice Insulations Limited had deducted pension contributions from the wages and salaries of its employees in September 2018 and November 2018 for remittance to the trustee of CWPS, but had failed to remit the contributions within the statutory timeframe. However, all outstanding employee contributions due to the scheme were repaid prior to sentencing.
Commenting on the conviction in this case, the Pensions Regulator, Brendan Kennedy, said, “This conviction should act as a warning to all employers that the Pensions Authority treats the failure of the employer to remit pension contributions as a very serious offence. We advise any employer with outstanding pension contributions to immediately regularise their position.”
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For further information, contact:
David Malone
Head of Operations
The Pensions Authority
Tel (01) 6131900
Note to Editors
The Pensions Authority
The Pensions Authority (the “Authority”) is the statutory body established by the Pensions Act 1990 (the “Act”) to regulate occupational pension schemes, trust based RACs and Personal Retirement Savings Accounts (PRSAs) and to advise the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection on overall pension policy development.
See www.pensionsauthority.ie
Under the Act, the Authority has power to carry out investigations into alleged breaches of the Act and to ensure that trustees, employers, pension administrators and their advisers comply with their obligations to current and former employees in relation to their pension contributions and benefits.
The Authority’s powers allow it to conduct on-site visits without notice, seize and copy relevant documents; enter dwellings on foot of a warrant, and to prosecute any person that contravenes the provisions of the Act.
