Pension-related inquiries and complaints rose significantly last year, according to the Pension Board's annual report for 1998.
"The board received 3,365 inquiries or complaints in 1998. This figure was 45 per cent up on the previous year. Almost one-third of these came from scheme members, pensioners and trade unions representing members. Inquiries to the board have more than doubled since 1998," the board's chief executive, Ms Anne Maher, said yesterday.
The majority of inquiries were of an inquisitive nature and reflect an increase in awareness of the board's role and Ireland's ageing, pension-conscious population said the board's chairman, Mr Eamonn Heffernan.
Administrative and disclosure compliance still remained a problem for some pensions schemes this year. The Pensions Board found that of 196 schemes examined, only 17 satisfied in full the requirements of disclosure regulations.
Although the board had hoped to ensure compliance without legal proceedings, it "will use the full powers it has under the Act to ensure compliance", Mr Heffernan said. The agency was taking a stricter approach to compliance.
"The board has made a decision to prosecute in five cases and 10 further cases are being considered for prosecution. These mainly relate to failures to submit actuarial funding certificates to the board or to meet the disclosure information regulations by the statutory deadlines," Ms Maher said.
One case involved a false statement made to the board. It was the board's policy not to name the pension schemes under investigation, Mr Heffernan said.
The annual report shows that 98 per cent of schemes required to submit an actuarial funding certificate to the board by the end of 1998 had done so. This covered 99 per cent of the relevant pension scheme membership. These certificates are significant because they are used by the board to monitor each defined benefit pension scheme's compliance with the requirement to have adequate assets to meet liabilities if a wind-up should occur.
The board conducted 189 investigations during 1998 compared to 163 in 1997. Fifty-one were carried forward into 1999. Of those under investigation, 12 were serious enough to warrant a statutory section 18 investigation.
The Pension Board's register now includes 63,965 pension schemes covering 534,198 members compared to 55,450 schemes covering 519,469 members the previous year. In the private sector and commercial semi-state sector, defined benefit membership is almost twice defined contribution membership. Including the public sector, the ratio is 3.5 defined benefit members to one defined contribution member.
Defined benefit pensions guarantee a set proportion of a member's salary after they retire. Defined contribution scheme pay-outs depend on the performance of the stock markets in which the funds are invested.
The Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs, Mr Ahern, said he hoped the Pensions Bill would be enacted next year.
