I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that, based upon the latest information available, 5,413 individuals have invested SSIA funds into approved pensions under the Pensions Incentive Tax Credits scheme up to end December 2006. Two-thirds of all SSIAs will mature in the early months of 2007.
In order to avail of the incentive, the following criteria must be met:
One must be an SSIA holder;
The SSIA holder's gross income (i.e. before all deductions) in the tax year before the year in which the SSIA matures does not exceed €50,000; and
The SSIA funds are invested within 3 months of the maturity of the SSIA.
In addition, and in accordance with my statement of 29 September 2006, SSIA funds invested in pension based products should remain there for at least 12 months in order to retain the tax credit. This requirement is being provided for in legislation in this year's Finance Bill.
I am also informed by the Revenue Commissioners that there is no precise information available on the number of SSIA holders who are eligible for the scheme so that it would not be feasible to provide a reliable estimate of the "take-up" rate of the scheme.