Pensions Benefit Statements

IORPS Regulations

 

Pension Benefit Statement

Interpretation

31. In this Part –

“employer” has the same meaning as it has in the Principal Act;

“Pensions Authority” means the body established under section 9 of the Principal Act;

“registered administrator” has the same meaning as it has in the Principal Act;

“scheme” has the same meaning as it has in the Principal Act;

“trust RAC” has the same meaning as it has in the Principal Act;

“trustees” has the same meaning as it has in the Principal Act.

Pension Benefit Statement: appointment of registered administrator

32. (1) For the purposes of facilitating the discharge by the trustees of a scheme or trust RAC of their obligations under this Part, the trustees shall appoint a registered administrator to prepare on their behalf the Pension Benefit Statement required under this Part.

(2) The appointment of a registered administrator under paragraph (1) does not relieve the trustees referred to in paragraph (1) of their obligations under this Part.

(3) Where a registered administrator is appointed by the trustees of a scheme or trust RAC under paragraph (1), the registered administrator shall –

(a) prepare the Pension Benefit Statement in accordance with this Part, and

(b) provide the Pension Benefit Statement to the trustees not later than one month prior to the date by which the Pension Benefit Statement is to be made available, under Regulation 32(6), by the trustees of the scheme or trust RAC to the members of the scheme or trust RAC.

General Provisions

33. (1) The trustees of a scheme or trust RAC shall cause to be prepared, in accordance with this Part, a concise document, containing key information for each member of the scheme or trust RAC concerned (in these Regulations referred to as “Pension Benefit Statement”).

(2) The title of the Pension Benefit Statement shall contain the words Pension Benefit Statement.

(3) The exact date to which the information in the Pension Benefit Statement refers shall be stated prominently in the Pension Benefit Statement.

(4) The trustees of a scheme or trust RAC shall ensure that the information contained in the Pension Benefit Statement is –

(a) accurate,

(b) updated,

(c) written in a clear manner, using clear, succinct and comprehensible language, avoiding the use of jargon and avoiding technical terms where everyday words can be used instead,

(d) not misleading, and consistency shall be ensured in the vocabulary and content,

(e) presented in a way that is easy to read,

(f) available in the English language, and

(g) made available in accordance with paragraph (5) and, where appropriate, paragraph (7).

(5) The trustees of a scheme or trust RAC shall make available to each member of the scheme or trust RAC concerned a Pension Benefit Statement free of charge through electronic means, including on a durable medium or by means of a website, or on paper, at least annually in accordance with paragraph (6).

(6) The trustees of a scheme or trust RAC shall, for the purposes of paragraph (5), make the Pension Benefit Statement available to each member not later than 6 months from the exact date specified in the Statement.

(7) The trustees of a scheme or trust RAC shall, on request by a member of the scheme or trust RAC concerned, provide that member free of charge with a paper copy of the Pension Benefit Statement not later than 4 weeks from the date the request is made.

(8) Where there is any material change to the information contained in the Pension Benefit Statement in comparison to the information contained in the immediately preceding Pension Benefit Statement, the trustees of the scheme or trust RAC concerned shall clearly indicate that material change to the information in that Pension Benefit Statement.

Information to be provided in Pension Benefit Statement

34. (1) The trustees of a scheme or trust RAC shall provide the following key information for members in the Pension Benefit Statement –

(a) personal details of the member concerned including a clear indication of his or her retirement age,

(b) the name of the scheme or trust RAC and its contact address and identification of the scheme or trust RAC of the member,

(c) where applicable, information on full or partial guarantees under the scheme or trust RAC and if relevant, where further information can be found,

(d) information on pension benefit projections based on the retirement age as specified in subparagraph (a), and a disclaimer that those projections may differ from the final value of the benefits received and, if the pension benefit projections are based on economic scenarios, that information shall also include a best estimate scenario and an unfavourable scenario, taking into consideration the specific nature of the scheme or trust RAC,

(e) information on the accrued entitlements or accumulated capital taking into consideration the specific nature of the scheme or trust RAC,

(f) information on the contributions paid by the employer and the member into the scheme or trust RAC, at least over the last 12 months, taking into consideration the specific nature of the scheme or trust RAC,

(g) a breakdown of the costs deducted by the scheme or trust RAC at least over the last 12 months, and

(h) information on the funding level of the scheme or trust RAC as a whole.

(2) The trustees referred to in paragraph (1) may provide additional information to the key information specified in that paragraph.

(3) In subparagraphs (f) and (g) of paragraph (1), “the last 12 months” means the 12 months immediately preceding the exact date stated in the Pension Benefit Statement concerned.

(4) The Pensions Authority shall set out rules to determine the assumptions of the projections referred to in paragraph (1)(d).

(5) The trustees of a scheme or trust RAC shall apply the rules referred to in paragraph (4) to determine, where relevant, the annual rate of nominal investment returns, the annual rate of inflation and the trend of future wages.

Pension Benefit Statement: supplementary information

35. (1) The Pension Benefit Statement shall specify where and how to obtain supplementary information including:

(a) further practical information about the member’s options provided under the scheme or trust RAC;

(b) information relating to the –

(i) annual reports referred to in section 55 of the Principal Act,

(ii) annual accounts referred to in section 56 of the Principal Act, and

(iii) statement of investment policy principles referred to in section 59(1B) of the Principal Act;

(c) where applicable, information about the assumptions used for amounts expressed in annuities, in particular with respect to the annuity rate, the type of provider and the duration of the annuity; and

(d) information on the level of benefits, in case of cessation of employment.

(2) In addition to the information referred to in paragraph (1), where members bear investment risk and where an investment option is imposed on the member by a specific rule specified in the scheme or trust RAC, the Pension Benefit Statement shall indicate where additional information is available.

Offences and penalties

36. (1) A person who –

(a) fails to comply with paragraph (1) or (3) of Regulation 32,

(b) fails to comply with paragraph (1), (6) or (8) of Regulation 33,

(c) charges a sum of money for the provision of a Pension Benefit Statement under paragraph (5) or (7) of Regulation 33, or

(d) fails to comply with paragraph (1) or (5) of Regulation 34,

shall be guilty of an offence.

(2) A person guilty of an offence under paragraph (1) shall be liable –

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding €5,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or both, or

(b) on conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding €25,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or both.

(3) In proceedings for an offence under these Regulations, it shall be a defence for a person against whom such proceedings are brought to show that he or she made all reasonable efforts to ensure compliance with the provisions of these Regulations as are alleged to have been contravened.

(4) Where an offence under these Regulations is committed by a body corporate and is proved to have been so committed with the consent or connivance of or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of any person, being a director, manager, secretary or other officer of the body corporate, or a person purporting to act in such capacity, that person, as well as the body corporate, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished as if he or she were guilty of the first-mentioned offence.

(5) Proceedings for a summary offence under these Regulations may be brought and prosecuted by the Pensions Authority.

(6) A fine imposed by a court in respect of an offence under these Regulations shall not be paid out of the resources of a scheme or trust RAC.

Transitional provisions for Part

37. (1) Where a scheme or trust RAC has commenced on or before the coming into operation of this Part, for the purpose of making available the first Pension Benefit Statement after the coming into operation of this Part, the scheme or trust RAC shall, subject to paragraph (2), make that Statement available, in accordance with Regulation 33(6), not later than 31 December 2022.

(2) In the case of a one-member arrangement commenced on or before the coming into operation of this Part, the provisions of this Part shall only on and from the expiry of 5 years from the date of such coming into force apply to such one-member arrangements.

(3) In subsection (2), “one-member arrangement” has the same meaning as it has in the Principal Act.

Chapter 2