S.I. No. 43/2015 - Occupational Pension Schemes (Revaluation) Regulations 2015.

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 10th February, 2015.

I, JOAN BURTON T.D., Minister for Social Protection, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by sections 5 and 33 (as amended by section 21 of the Pensions (Amendment) Act, 2002 (No. 18 of 2002)) of the Pensions Act, 1990 (No. 25 of 1990), and having consulted with the the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, hereby make the following Regulations:

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Occupational Pension Schemes (Revaluation) Regulations 2015.

2. In accordance with Section 33 of the Pensions Act, there shall be a 0.2% revaluation of preserved pension benefits for 2014.

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

30 January 2015.

JOAN BURTON,

Minister for Social Protection.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

Section 33 of the Pensions Act, 1990 , as amended, provides that the Minister for Social Protection, after consultation with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, shall, in respect of each revaluation year, make Regulations specifying the percentage which shall determine the amount by which a preserved pension benefit is to be increased in that year.

That section specifies that this increase shall be the lesser of the percentage that equals the increase in the general level of consumer prices during that year, calculated by the Minister as she sees fit, or 4%.

As statistics released by the CSO state that the 2014 average annual percentage increase in the consumer price index was 0.2%, these Regulations determine that there will be a 0.2% increase in the revaluation of preserved benefits for 2014.