Tuesday 23 November 2021: In Cork City District Court on Wednesday 17 November 2021, Judge O’Leary convicted Howley Contracts Limited, 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 North Point House, North Point Business Park, New Mallow Road, Co. Cork was fined €500 with five months to pay.
Howley Contracts Limited had deducted pension contributions from the wages and salaries of its employees between October 2019 and March 2020 for remittance to the trustee of CWPS but had failed to remit the contributions within the statutory timeframe. However, all outstanding employee and employer contributions due to the scheme were repaid prior to the court date.
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.”
-Ends-
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 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.
