Tuesday 15 August 2017: Today, the Pensions Authority published its Annual Report and Accounts for 2016.
Commenting on the Annual Report, the Chairman of the Pensions Authority David Begg said: “The priorities of the Authority are to oversee, support and improve Irish occupational pensions and PRSAs. The Authority supervises compliance with the Pensions Act by scheme trustees, Personal Retirement Saving Account (PRSA) providers, Registered Administrators and employers. There are some 160,000 schemes with over 770,000 active members holding more than €100 billion in assets, and over 250,000 individual PRSA contracts with over €5.6 billion in assets. Our work reflects the importance of these pensions in maintaining standards of living in retirement.”
The Pensions Regulator, Brendan Kennedy said: “2016 was a busy year. The annual report sets out the wide range of activity undertaken by the Authority. The Authority’s compliance supervision work takes first priority at all times. As this report shows, the level of misappropriation is low, although it continues to be a concern. Funded pensions savings represent about €100 billion of savings and it is important that these are properly managed to the standard that the public has a right to expect. As for any regulator, our work must comprise a proper balance between enforcement and support activities. Levels of compliance will be higher where those who are subject to regulation are clear about their specific obligations and about what actions are necessary to be compliant. The guidance issued to date has been welcomed by the pensions sector, and the Authority is committed to maintaining and expanding such guidance.”
Looking forward, the Regulator said: “An important event for pensions during 2016 was the adoption of the revised E.U. Directive on pensions, usually referred to as IORPs II. The deadline for transposition into national law is January 2019. Work on IORP II will therefore be a high priority for the Authority for the next two years, and this will involve providing technical support and advice to the Department of Social Protection, and preparing the necessary changes to our oversight of pensions, and communicating with and supporting those affected by the changes. The requirements of the new Directive are consistent with the Authority’s views of what changes are needed to the Irish pension system.”
A full news release and a copy of the Annual Report and Accounts 2016 are available in the 'Related File(s)' area of this page.
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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 Social Protection on overall pension policy development. See www.pensionsauthority.ie
