Reminder to employers of compliance deadline for pension schemes

The Pensions Authority reminds employers of the upcoming compliance deadline of 1 January 2023 for employer sponsored pension schemes. From that date, pension schemes will need to comply with new higher standards arising from the Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provision II EU Directive (the IORP II Directive).

Head of Supervision and Enforcement, Grace Guy, said: “The Directive has significantly raised the standards for pension schemes, and meeting them is likely to require more expertise, time and resources. We are urging employers, if they haven’t done so already, to talk to their pension scheme trustees to make sure they fully understand the implications of the new rules on their pension scheme.

Pension benefits are an important part of employee benefits and employers need to ensure that the trustees of their scheme are in a position to comply with their additional obligations. However, for employers with small stand-alone pension schemes, it may not be cost-efficient for their scheme to meet the new obligations, and these employers should be using the remaining months of 2022 to take concrete steps to implement alternative pension arrangements for their employees.”