News

In Bulletin No. 2 - November 2008, the Pensions Board brought the self investment limits under the IORPs directive to the attention of pension schemes. Article 18 of the IORPs Directive limits the investment by a pension scheme to 5% of total assets in the employer and an additional 5% in other group companies related to the employer. The deadline for the implementation of this measure is 23 September 2010 and the Government has decided that it will not be implemented until the Directive deadline. However, the Board wishes to give advance notice of the application of this measure so that schemes take whatever investment steps are necessary in good time.

Section 50 guidance has been added to our website.

The Pensions Board successfully prosecuted B. & C. Engineering Company Limited with an address at Rockgrove Industrial Estate, Little Island, Cork for failure to submit an actuarial funding certificate within 9 months of the effective date of the certificate as required.

The Pensions Board welcomes the publication of the first report into personal financial education, entitled 'Improving Financial Capability - a multi-stakeholder approach' by the National Steering Group of Financial Education, of which the Board is a member.

The Occupational Pension Schemes (Duties of Trustees in Connection with Bulk Transfer) Regulations 2009 (“the Regulations”) were signed into law on the 7 May 2009. The Regulations impose various requirements on trustees to give certain information when carrying out a bulk transfer from a pension scheme for which the consent of the members is not required. It includes a bulk transfer arising from the winding up of such a scheme. A bulk transfer is a transfer of an amount of money or other resources by the trustees of a scheme in discharge of their liability under the scheme to provide benefits for a group of members. The Regulations come into effect on the 1st August 2009.

Trustees and employers have to focus as a matter of urgency on producing funding proposals that are viable and sustainable over the long term.

The Pensions Board is hosting a series of pension information seminars to explain recent changes in pension legislation.

Last September, the Pensions Board granted a six month extension to the deadline for defined benefit schemes to submit funding proposals for approval. For some schemes, this extended period expires at the end of June, 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 to Eurostat. For pension schemes and trust RACs the required information includes details of the scheme type, benefits, status, membership, fund value and contributions and benefits.

Mary Hanafin TD, Minister for Social and Family Affairs today announced further changes to the rules governing defined benefit schemes to enable them to better cope with recent investment losses. As outlined in the attached press release from the Department of Social and Family Affairs, The Pensions Board will publish technical details of the revisions in early January.