Ivan Yates
Question:16 Mr. Yates asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he proposes to introduce amendments to the Pensions Act in time for the new tax year commencing 6 April 1994.
Written Answers. - Pensions Act.
I introduced the Pensions Act in 1990 which set up the Pensions Board and provided for the safeguarding of the interests of members of occupational pension schemes by setting down minimum standards with which all schemes have to comply.
Since then various amendments to the Pensions Act, many of a technical nature, have been introduced by means of the annual post-budget Social Welfare Act. This has caused some difficulty, not least for the parliamentary draftsman, in view of the tight deadline for preparation and passage of the Social Welfare Act. This year I, therefore, propose to introduce a separate Bill which will incorporate a number of mainly technical amendments to the Pensions Act which have been proposed by the Pensions Board. I hope to introduce this Bill at the earliest possible opportunity following the enactment of the Social Welfare Bill.