Registered Administrators

Register of Administrators.

The Authority shall establish and maintain a register to be known as the Register of Administrators. The Register shall be kept at the offices of the Authority and be made available for inspection by any person free of charge during office hours.  A copy of an entry in the Register shall, on request, be issued by the Authority on payment of such fee (if any), not exceeding the reasonable cost of making the copy, as is prescribed.

Registration, or the renewal of the registration, of a person under this Part does not constitute a warranty as to the fitness or suitability of that person to act as a registered administrator, and the Authority –

• is not liable in respect of any losses incurred by a trustee resulting from the appointment of a particular registered administrator, and
• has no duty to any trustee or any other person regarding the performance by a registered administrator of the core administration functions.

A person shall not perform core administration functions for the trustees of a scheme or trust RAC unless that person is registered with the Authority as a registered administrator.  A registered administrator shall –

• prepare on behalf of the trustees an annual report in the prescribed form and deliver it to the trustees not less than one month prior to the date by which the trustees are required by regulations under this Act to make the annual report available;
• prepare on behalf of the trustees annual benefit statements for members and deliver them to the trustees not less than one month prior to the date by which the trustees are required by regulations under this Act to make such statements available;
•  keep accurate and sufficient records of members and of their entitlements to enable the registered administrator to discharge the above  duties and
•  discharge such other duties as are prescribed.

Application

A person may apply to the Authority for registration as a registered administrator by lodging with the Authority an application for registration in the prescribed form. The Authority shall  cause the name of an applicant to be placed on the Register if it is satisfied that the applicant

• is not disqualified, and
• meets such other requirements as are prescribed, and
• refuse to register the applicant if it is not so satisfied.

An application for renewal of registration must be in the prescribed form and, s lodged with the Authority not later than 30 days before the end of the registration year of the registered administrator immediately preceding the year for which renewal is sought.

The authority  may decide either not to renew that registration, or to renew it subject to conditions, if –

• it is not satisfied that the applicant continues to meet all of the requirements  or
• as a result of an audit of the applicant it is satisfied that the registered administrator has failed to a material extent to properly perform any of the core administration functions for which it has had responsibility or to comply with a condition imposed under this paragraph.

The conditions that may be imposed are –

• the restriction that the registered administrator may provide core administration functions only to trustees to whom it provided those functions during the registration year immediately preceding the date of renewal; and
• any other condition that is prescribed.

Disqualifications.

A person is not entitled to become, or to remain, registered  if the person –

• is an undischarged bankrupt,
• has made a composition or arrangement with his creditors and has not discharged his obligations under that composition or arrangement,
• has been convicted of an offence involving fraud or dishonesty,
• is a company any director of which is prohibited under this section from being a registered administrator, or
• is a person who is for the time being subject to the restrictions imposed by section 150 of the Companies Act 1990.

Duties of registered administrators.

A registered administrator shall –

• prepare on behalf of the trustees an annual report in the prescribed form and deliver it to the trustees not less than one month prior to the date by which the trustees are required by regulations under this Act to make the annual report available;
• prepare on behalf of the trustees annual benefit statements for members and deliver them to the trustees not less than one month prior to the date by which the trustees are required by regulations under this Act to make such statements available;
• keep accurate and sufficient records of members and of their entitlements to enable the registered administrator to discharge the duties specified above and
• discharge such other duties as are prescribed.

Termination of registration.

The Authority may terminate the registration of a registered administrator if the Authority is satisfied that the registered administrator –

• has expressly requested the termination of registration;
• has failed to comply with the requirements of this Act;
• has not complied with a condition imposed by the Authority under section 64E(2)(b); or
• is disqualified under section 64F from registration under this Part.

As soon as practicable after the Authority terminates the registration of a person as a registered administrator under subsection (1) it shall notify the person in writing of the termination and the reasons for that termination.

Termination Issues

A registered administrator which becomes disqualified from acting  shall immediately notify that fact in writing to the Authority and to the trustees of each scheme or trust RAC of which it is the registered administrator.

A contract for the performance of the core administration functions between trustees and a registered administrator may not be terminated by either party by less than 90 days’ prior written notice, except where the Authority has decided not to renew the administrator’s registration or has terminated that registration.

Where a registered administrator has an outsourcing arrangement, the registered administrator remains fully responsible for discharging all of its obligations .

Appeals

Where

• a person’s application for registration has been refused,
• a person’s application for renewal of registration has been refused, or
• the Authority has imposed one or more conditions on a person, or
• a person’s registration has been terminated,

the person may, within 21 days of the date of the notification  (or such longer period as the High Court allows before the expiration of those 21 days, being a period that, having regard to the circumstances of any particular case, the court considers to be reasonable), appeal to the High Court against the making of the decision to which the notification relates.

On an appeal under this section the High Court may make such order confirming, annulling or varying the decision concerned and such order as to costs as it thinks fit. The Board, the trustees of the scheme or trust RAC and the registered administrator concerned are entitled to be represented and heard on any appeal under this section.

Publication of termination, non-renewal or restriction.

If the Authority –

• terminates the registration of a registered administrator
• decides not to renew the registration of a registered administrator  or
• renews the registration of a registered administrator subject to one or more conditions ),

it shall publish notice of that fact in Iris Oifigiúil and in one or more newspapers circulating in the State within 28 days of the termination, non-renewal or renewal, as the case may be.

Obligations of registered administrator following notification from Board.

Where a person has been notified by the Authority –

• that its registration is terminated,
• that its registration is not renewed, or
• that the Authority has imposed conditions on the operations of the person as a registered administrator,

the person shall immediately notify in writing the trustees of each scheme or trust RAC of which the person is the registered administrator that it has received a notice from the Authority and the content of that notice.

If a person has been notified by the Authority that –

• its registration is terminated, or
• its registration is not renewed,

it shall, not more than two months from the date of the notification, transfer all information held by it relating to each scheme or trust RAC of which it was the registered administrator, as directed by the trustees of that scheme or trust RAC, to such other registered administrator as is nominated by the trustees or to the trustees.

Services of registered administrator and sale of other products

This provision is not yet in force.

A service or product shall not be marketed or sold to trustees in such a manner as to make the purchase of that service or product dependent on the purchase of the services of a particular registered administrator.

The services of a registered administrator shall not be marketed or sold in such a manner as to make the entering into of a contract in respect of the services of the registered administrator dependent on the purchase of any other service or product.