Eurostat requirements – duties of registered administrators, trustees of small trust RACs and administrators of public service pension schemes
See the ‘Registered Administrations’ section of the website for updated information on the requirements for registered administrators.
Tuesday 14 April 2009: Regulation (EC) No 2056/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 November 2002 amending Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 58/97 concerning structural business statistics requires all EU member states to furnish specified information. For pension schemes and trust RACs the required information includes details of the scheme type, benefits, status, membership, fund value and contributions and benefits. This statistical information corresponds closely to the information required for the preparation of scheme annual reports and member benefit statements. The relevant statistical information must be furnished in respect of each scheme and trust RAC to the Board annually within 9 months of the scheme year end for scheme years commencing on or after 1 January 2008.
The onus to furnish information to the Board is:
- In the case of occupational pension schemes or trust retirement annuity contracts – the Registered Administrator (RA). If there is more than one RA or the RA changes during the scheme year under report then it is the RA responsible for preparing the annual report;
- In the case of a one member occupational pension scheme – the RA responsible for the preparation of annual benefit statements;
- In the case of an occupational pension scheme which has not been established under trust – the administrator of the occupational pension scheme. However, it is a matter for public sector schemes to determine whether their scheme is established under trust or not;
- Death Benefit only schemes, small trust retirement annuity contracts and individual retirement annuity contracts are not required to provide annual scheme information.
The Regulations (S.I. 531 of 2008) were signed into law on 11 December 2008. The scheme information form is available under ‘Related Documents’. The following are general notes on the completion of the form.
Notes on Completion of Form
All sections of the form must be competed in full. “None” or “N A" (Not Applicable) should be entered where appropriate, but blank spaces or "to be advised" or similar responses may result in the Schedule being rejected as incomplete.
The Report must be in the exact format as outlined.
The spreadsheet file is set out in the following way:
(a) Definitions Tab – this displays an example of all the terms in the Schedule J and an explanation for each;
(b) Notes Tab –
Note 1.
This is the name of the person completing the electronic return and it will normally be a member of staff of the registered administrator of the scheme or the administrator in the case of a public sector scheme. The hardcopy signature of the person should be forwarded separately to the Board.
Note 2.
If a Scheme year commences on 1 February 2008 this means that the Scheme year end is 31 January 2009. The year to which the report applies is the year in which the first day of the scheme year falls e.g. 2008. The eurostat return details must be provided within 9 months from the scheme year end date e.g. 30 October 2009.
(c) Schedule J Tab – blank form for completion;
(d) Sample Data Tab – a sample completed form for reference and assistance.
This Schedule should be submitted to: The Pensions Board by email only to eurostatreturn@pensionsboard.ie