Information for trustees and registered administrators

Trustees

Under the Pensions Act, trustees have the main responsibility for the administration of funded occupational pension schemes and trust retirement annuity contracts (RACs) and for compliance with any statutory requirements. The Pensions Authority is responsible for:

  • providing guidance for trustees in relation to scheme administration and other duties and responsibilities of trustees, and
  • issuing codes of practice on specific aspects of trustees’ responsibilities.

The Code of Practice for trustees sets out the Authority’s expectations for the conduct and practice of trustees of funded occupational pension schemes and trust RACs.

Registered administrators

Trustees of every occupational pension scheme and trust RAC must appoint a registered administrator to carry out certain duties on their behalf. These duties are known as ‘core administration functions’, namely, the preparation of annual reports and annual benefit statements (being replaced by pension benefit statements from 2023), the maintenance of sufficient and accurate member records and the submission of annual scheme information (ASI) to the Authority.

Previously, small trust RACs were exempt from the requirement to appoint a registered administrator. The European Union (Occupational Pension Schemes) Regulations, 2021, removed this exemption.

Registered administrators must apply to the Authority to renew their registration annually, at least 30 days before their renewal date. Applications for renewal as a registered administrator must be completed through the Authority’s pensions data register (PDR).

A list of current registered administrators is available below.

The Authority has published frequently asked questions on registered administrators. These can be found under FAQs on pensions.