Trustees

Under the Pensions Act, trustees have the ultimate responsibility for the administration of funded occupational pension schemes and trust retirement annuity contracts (RACs) and for compliance with any statutory requirements, whether or not they outsource these duties. Under the Act, the Pensions Authority is responsible for:

• providing guidance on the duties and responsibilities of trustees, and
• issuing codes of practice on specific aspects of trustees' responsibilities.

The trustee handbook (currently under review) provides guidance for trustees on how to achieve compliance with the Pensions Act and other relevant legislation. The handbook also promotes good practice generally in relation to scheme administration. The trustee handbook is available below. 

The Code of Practice for trustees sets out the Authority’s expectations for the conduct and practice of trustees of funded occupational pension schemes and trust RACs.

Registered administrators

Registered Administrators

Trustees of every scheme and trust RAC must appoint a registered administrator to carry out certain duties on their behalf. These duties are known as 'core administration functions', namely, the preparation of annual reports and annual benefit statements, the maintenance of sufficient and accurate member records and the submission of annual scheme information to the Authority.

Previously, small trust RACs were exempt from the requirement to appoint a registered administrator. The European Union (Occupational Pension Schemes) Regulations, 2021, removed this exemption.

Registered administrators must apply to the Authority to renew their registration annually, at least 30 days before their renewal date. Applications for renewal as a registered administrator must be completed through the Authority's Pensions Data Register.

A list of current registered administrators is available below.

The Authority has published frequently asked questions on registered administrators. These can be found under the FAQs on pensions section.