Vol. 576 No. 1
95 Ms McManus asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of people who had taken out a personal retirement savings account by the end of September 2003; if she has satisfied herself with the level of take up of the accounts; her plans to promote awareness regarding these accounts; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28954/03]
According to statistics compiled by the Pensions Board, at the end of September 2003 a total of 6,707 individuals had commenced a personal retirement savings account. Employers who do not currently provide an occupational pension scheme for employees, or where they do provide a scheme but not all employees are eligible to join, must provide access to a standard PRSA for these employees. These provisions took legal effect from 15 September.
Since the introduction of PRSAs earlier this year, providers have put a significant effort into signing up employers in advance of the September deadline. In these circumstances, the numbers who have already taken out a PRSA are encouraging. I understand that providers are now contacting employees in these firms to encourage them to commence saving for their retirement on foot of the contracts signed with employers. At the same time, the Pensions Board is running a national pensions awareness campaign on behalf of my Department to support and complement the effort being made by providers to promote PRSAs. The combined effect of the introduction of compulsory employer access, the efforts being made by providers to promote PRSAs and pension products generally, and the national pensions awareness campaign should see a significant increase in activity in this whole area over the coming months with many more workers signing up for PRSAs. The Department and the Pensions Board are monitoring progress closely and will continue to do so. The next PRSA returns will refer to the end December position and will be available in early February.
