Pensions Authority 2020 Engagement Programme

Wednesday 12 February 2020: The Pensions Authority is adopting a forward looking risk based approach to supervision. As part of this we are undertaking an engagement programme to assess how schemes are meeting their governance and risk obligations. The engagement programme will initially focus on some large defined benefit and defined contribution multi-employer schemes and will comprise:

–       the completion of a questionnaire;

–       meeting(s) between trustees and the Authority, based on the completed questionnaire; and

–       a findings report including our observations and, where appropriate, recommendations for improvement.

The questionnaire will enable the Authority to assess a scheme’s governance standards and how this may impact on good member outcomes. The questionnaire will also, where appropriate, enable the Authority to assess how well a scheme meets the proposed requirements for Master Trusts as published by the Authority in June 2019 here and other requirements of the IORP II Directive, once this has been transposed into law.

Head of Supervision and Enforcement, Grace Guy, said: “The Pensions Authority is committed to improving member outcomes by implementing a forward looking and risk based approach to supervision. This will involve more direct engagement with trustees involving dialogue and scrutiny about how well they are exercising their responsibilities to their members. This programme is the first step in a process that will be extended to all schemes.”

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For further information, contact:

Technical Unit

The Pensions Authority

Tel: (01) 613 1900

info@pensionsauthority.ie

Note to editors

The Pensions Authority

The Pensions Authority is the statutory body established by the Pensions Act 1990 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 adviser comply with their obligations to current and former employees in relation to their pensions 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