Occupational Pension Schemes (Investment) (Amendment) Regulations 2010

Monday 27 September 2010: The Occupational Pension Schemes (Investment) (Amendment) Regulations 2010, SI No. 455 of 2010 have been signed into law by the Minister for Social Protection, Éamon Ó Cuív T.D., with effect from 23 September 2010.

These Regulations amend the Occupational Pension Schemes (Investment) Regulations 2006 to 2007 by providing that investments by schemes in their sponsoring employer shall represent no more than 5% of the portfolio as a whole.  Where the sponsoring employer belongs to a group, the regulations provide that investment in the employer group, inclusive of the sponsoring employer, shall not exceed 10% of the scheme’s resources.  The Regulations permit a higher upper limit of self-investment by small member-controlled schemes of 20%, subject to the overriding constraints of the prudent person principle.  The Regulations do not apply to one member arrangements.

Trustees must always ensure that their investments are prudent and are appropriately diversified, so self-investment as permitted by the amended regulations may not always be appropriate or permitted.