Pension scheme fees
Pension schemes are required to pay annual fees to the Pensions Authority in accordance with the Pensions Act. Section 25 of the Pensions Act provides that annual fees must be calculated in accordance with the Occupational Pension Schemes (Fees) Amendment Regulations, 2002, as amended (the fees regulations). An unofficial consolidated version of the amended fees regulations is available in Related File(s) below.
When are Pensions Authority fees due to be paid?
Fees for one-member arrangements must be paid by 31 January each year, i.e., the date specified by the Authority under regulation 5(c) of the fees regulations.
Group pension scheme fees must be paid by 31 March each year.
Fees for newly registered schemes must be paid within three months of the commencement of the scheme, or by 31 December in the year of account, whichever is the earlier.
How to pay Pensions Authority fees
Payment of fees can only be made through the Authority’s Pensions Data Register (PDR). Payment is accepted in the form of debit/credit card or electronic funds transfer (EFT). It is essential that EFT payments are supported by the reference numbers generated at the point of processing the payment through the PDR. The bank details for EFT payments can be found below.
How to calculate Pensions Authority fees
Fees due for one-member arrangements are calculated as at 31 December.
For group schemes, fees are calculated based on the number of active members in the scheme at the scheme year commencement date arising in the previous calendar year. For example, where the scheme year commences on 1 October, the fee for 2025 is based on the number of active members as at 1 October 2024 and the fee is payable by 31 March 2025.
However, where a group scheme has 20 or more participating employers at 31 December 2023, the fee payable is based on the number of active members on 31 December in the previous calendar year. For example, the fee in 2025 for a group scheme which has more than 20 participating employers is based on the number of active members in the scheme on 31 December 2024.
Where a scheme commences in the year of account, the fee is based on the number of active members at the scheme’s commencement date.
Fee rates for pension schemes* |
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| Year |
500 active members or less Fee per active member |
501-1000 active members Flat fee |
More than 1000 active members Fee per active member |
| 2025 | €12 | €6,000 | €6 |
| 2024 | €12 | €6,000 | €6 |
| 2023 | €12 | €6,000 | €6 |
| 2022 | €12 | €6,000 | €6 |
| 2021 | €8 | €4,000 | €4 |
*Note: Fees for certain public sector schemes are calculated at the reduced rate of 40% of the rates set out in the table.
Exclusions
‘AVC-only’ and ‘death benefit only’ schemes are not required to pay Authority fees.
Where a scheme was established before 1 January 1993 and had one active member at the start of the scheme year before the year of account, Authority fees do not fall due. However, if the scheme had more than one active member in the year of account, Authority fees fall due.
Regulations (4)(3)(b) and 4(3)(g) specify the circumstances in which no fee is payable where a scheme’s status changes to ‘frozen’, ‘in wind-up’, or ‘wound up’ in the year of account.
