PENSION TRUSTEES BEWARE
The Pensions Board (“the Board”), the statutory authority with responsibility for monitoring the operation of the Pensions Acts, has recently released its Review of 2009. The Review makes interesting reading for the trustees of Pension Schemes throughout the country. It highlights the need for pension trustees to keep a close eye on the fund in question as well as their statutory obligations as trustees of that fund.
In the construction sector alone, 169 cases of suspected deduction and non-remittance of pension contributions by employers were reported to the Board. The Board issued on-the-spot fines (€2,000.00 each) to 51 Trustees of 18 separate pension schemes. Sixteen fines were levied for failure to submit or late submission of actuarial funding certificates. The Board undertook 3 criminal prosecutions of trustees pursuant to its statutory functions. One such prosecution was for failure to submit an Actuarial Funding Certificate. The other 2 prosecutions related to failure to remit pension contributions deducted from employees’ wages.
The Chief Executive of the Board, Mr Brendan Kennedy commented that “much of the work of the Pensions Board in 2009 was a direct or indirect result of the Irish and global economic crisis”.
These statistics serve as a reminder that an occupational pension scheme is something which should be monitored by all trustees in order to fulfil their duties under the Pensions Acts. In these difficult times, it is very important that all trustees are aware of their statutory duties and familiarise themselves with their obligations to the trust fund and its beneficiaries.
Matthew Austin
maustin@hayes-solicitors.ie