Vol. 468 No. 4
717 Ms Keogh asked the Minister for Social Welfare the reason the Government has failed to legislate for the preservation of occupational pension benefits for redundant workers in the private sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15073/96]
The Pensions Act, 1990, provides for compulsory preservation of occupational pensions in respect of post-1991 service.
The National Pensions Board in its final report referred to the fact that, although many schemes provide for preservation voluntarily in respect of pre-1991 service, many others do not. The recommendation made in the NPB's first report was that the preservation requirement should not be extended to the period before the introduction of the Pensions Act because of the potential cost implications of sudden new requirements on schemes for which advance financial provision would not have been made. It also indicated that the preservation requirements should be extended to pre-1991 service within a period of ten years of the Pensions Act coming into force. The NPB also recommended that the statutory Pensions Board should continue to keep this issue under review.
