S.I. No. 342/2003 - Personal Retirement Savings Accounts (Disclosure) (Amendment) Regulations, 2003

The Minister for Social and Family Affairs, in exercise of the powers conferred on her by section 5 and sections 111, 113, (both amended by section 24 of the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 2003 (No. 4 of 2003)), 115 (as inserted by Section 3 of the Pensions (Amendment) Act, 2002 (No. 18 of 2002)) and 116 (as amended by section 24 of the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2003 (No. 4 of 2003)) of the Pensions Act, 1990 (No. 25 of 1990), here by makes the following Regulations:-

Citation

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Personal Retirement Savings Accounts (Disclosure) (Amendment) Regulations, 2003.

Amendments to Regulations.

2. The Personal Retirement Savings Accounts (Disclosure) Regulations 2002 ( S.I. No. 501 of 2002 ) are amended -

(a)  in article 3

(i) by substituting for sub-article (3) the following:

“(3) A Preliminary Disclosure Certificate shall be prepared by the PRSA provider in accordance with -

(a)  Schedule B,

(b)  the advice of the PRSA Actuary, and

(c)  any guidance notes issued by the Society of Actuaries in Ireland for that purpose.”, and

(ii)      by inserting after sub-article (4) the following:

“(5) Before a person is issued with a Statement of Reasonable Projection required under section 112(2)(a) of the Act, the PRSA provider or intermediary shall give to that person a declaration, in the form set out in Part IV of Schedule A, for completion by that person.”,

(b)  in article 4 by substituting for sub-article (2) the following:

“(2) A Statement of Reasonable Projection shall be prepared by the PRSA provider in accordance with -

(a)  Schedule B,

(b)  the advice of the PRSA Actuary, and

(c)  any guidance notes issued by the Society of Actuaries in Ireland for that purpose.”,

(c)  in article 5 by inserting after sub-article (2) the following:

“(3) A Certificate of Comparison prepared shall be prepared in accordance with

(a)  the advice of the PRSA Actuary, and

(b)  any guidance notes issued by the Society of Actuaries in Ireland for that purpose.”,

(d)  by substituting for article 6 the following:

“6. (1) A written statement required under section 113(1)(b) of the Act shall be prepared

(a)  on the basis of the rules set out in Schedule E,

(b)  in accordance with the advice of the PRSA Actuary, and

(c)  in accordance with any guidance notes issued by the Society of Actuaries in Ireland for that purpose.

(2)  A statement of benefits required under section 113(2) of the Act shall be prepared in accordance with

(a)  the advice of the scheme actuary in the case of a defined benefit scheme, and

(b)  any guidance notes issued by the Society of Actuaries in Ireland for that purpose.”, and

(e)  in Schedule A by inserting after Part III the following:

“

Article 3(5)

PART IV

DECLARATION REQUIRED UNDER ARTICLE 3(5)

Warning

If you propose to enter into this PRSA contract in complete or partial replacement of an existing PRSA contract or a retirement annuity contract, please take special care to satisfy yourself that this PRSA contract meets your needs. In particular, please make sure that you are aware of the financial consequences of replacing your existing PRSA contract or retirement annuity contract. If you are in doubt about this, please contact your PRSA provider.

Declaration of PRSA provider or Intermediary

I hereby declare that in accordance with Article 3 of the Personal Retirement Savings Accounts (Disclosure) Regulations 2002, a Preliminary Disclosure Certificate has been provided to________________^* and that I have advised the person concerned as to the financial consequences of replacing an existing PRSA contract or retirement annuity contract with this PRSA contract by cancellation or reduction and of possible financial loss as a result of such a replacement.

Signed______________________

Name of PRSA provider or Intermediary

Date________________________

Declaration of person or contributor

I confirm that I have received in writing the information specified in the above declaration.

Signed___________________

Name of client.

Date_____________________”.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

[This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation]

Section 111 of the Pensions Act, 1990 , as amended by the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2003 , provides that the Minister may make regulations to provide for the disclosure of additional information relating to the consequences, including financial consequences, of replacing an existing PRSA contract or a retirement annuity contract with another PRSA contract. These regulations provide that this information must be provided before the initial statement of reasonable projection is issued and that it must be provided in the form of a declaration to be signed by the PRSA provider and the person concerned.

Sections 111, 113 and 116, as amended by the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2003 provide for the issue of a Preliminary Disclosure Certificate, a Certificate of Comparison and a Statement of Reasonable Projection respectively. These Regulations provide that all of these documents must be prepared in accordance with the advice of a PRSA Actuary and any guidance notes issued by the Society of Actuaries in Ireland for that purpose.

^* Insert name of person concerned.