News

A number of recent Irish cases had suggested that a statutory instrument should not be used for the purposes of implementing EU law, unless it was clear that the primary legislation included a power allowing regulations to be made to give effect to EU law. It was therefore decided in the interests of clarity to amend the Pensions Act, to state that such Regulations could be made and after that, to revoke the 2005 Regulations and replace them with the 2006 Regulations.

Friday 14 July 2006: The Pensions Board today launched its 2005 Annual Report, in the Government Press Centre, and presented a copy of the Report to the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Séamus Brennan TD, which is available on www.pensionsboard.ie .

Friday 2 June 2006: The Pensions Board will focus on one of its key target sectors when they attend the Woman’s World show at the RDS this weekend (2nd – 4th June). Pensions coverage overall for the female workforce stands at 47.5% compared to 54.2% for men. Recent Pensions Board figures confirm that women are still lagging behind in terms of PRSA uptake with only 37% of all new PRSA accounts opened by women compared to 63% for their male counterparts. The Pensions Board will have an information stand at the Woman’s World to encourage women to start funding for their financial independence in retirement.

Directive 2003/41/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 June 2003 on the activities and supervision of institutions for occupational retirement provision (“the IORPs Directive”) imposes regulatory requirements on schemes and it would appear these requirements apply to trust based RACs. In order to comply with the IORPs Directive and for other policy reasons consideration is being given to bringing trust based RACs within the ambit of the Pensions Acts.

The Committee of European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Supervisors (CEIOPS) 2006 Conference, will take place on 14 November 2006 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

Friday 5 May 2006: The Pensions Board today announced 1st quarter data for Personal Retirement Savings Accounts (PRSAs), received from all 10 PRSA providers to the end of March 2006.

Sunday 30 April 2006: National Pensions Action Week 2006: 64% of respondents in a recent consumer survey conducted by the Pensions Board said that it should be compulsory to start a pension, with 47% saying that they would be willing to pay a higher PRSI rate to provide for compulsory pensions. The research findings were revealed at the start of National Pensions Action Week which kicks off tomorrow during which the Pensions Board is encouraging consumers to take action around pensions.

Dublin Castle Conference Centre – Friday 5 May, 2006 “Irish Pensions, Changing Times, Challenging Future”

Tuesday 2 May 2006: Pensions must be accessible to all in the workplace and in society,” Anne Maher, Chief Executive, Pensions Board said today. Ms Maher was speaking during ‘Pensions in the workplace day’, when the Pensions Board launched its Pensions Checklist in Irish, French, Spanish, Polish, Russian, Arabic and Chinese. The Board also launched an information booklet ‘ Guide to Equal Pension Treatment’ and Guidance Notes on this subject.

Monday 24 April 2006: The Pensions Board today has announced details of National Pensions Action Week which will take place from May 1st – 7th and will exhort people to take action around pensions.