The Pensions Authority, which regulates PRSAs and occupational pension schemes, is almost entirely funded by the levies it imposes on these schemes, which account for an estimated €148bn in retirement savings. These fees include an annual charge for each approved PRSA product and a percentage of the total value of funds managed by providers of PRSAs, one of the fastest-growing areas of the pensions market.
In its annual report, the Pensions Authority said that it – along with Revenue – last year approved 23 new PRSA products, 10 of which came from a new PRSA provider. This helped drive up revenue from PRSA fees by nearly 34pc to €6.5m in 2024. Revenue from occupational pension schemes, on the other hand, dipped 4pc to €5.7m.
The annual report was signed off by chairman David Begg, a role appointed by the Social Protection Minister. Mr Begg, a former general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, was paid fees of €20,520 for his work, including attending seven Pensions Authority meetings last year.
Mr Begg hit the headlines earlier this month after the Irish Independent reported he had resigned as chairman of the Mater Hospital board this summer after a heated dispute with Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill.
You may be the Minister for Health, but you’re not God
The exchange at the original meeting came to a head when Mr Begg told the minister: “You may be the Minister for Health, but you’re not God.”
The Pensions Authority’s annual report, which was published last week, also revealed that the cost of an IT upgrade at the watchdog ballooned to nearly €5m, with the project now due to be delivered a year and a half behind schedule.
The Pensions Authority began developing a replacement for its main IT system in 2021, through its own staff and contractors. The project was due to be finished by the end of last year, but issues soon emerged. Four key staff left, with a subsequent analysis revealing the project would not be delivered until at least the second quarter of 2026.
External costs, which are now expected to be €3.9m compared with a budgeted €2.3m, account for most of the new projected cost of €4.9m for the IT upgrade, with an additional €1m linked to salaries of staff at the agency having to be assigned to the project for far longer than had been planned.
IT overspends at semi-state agencies have become a significant issue, with anger growing over the perception of taxpayers’ money being wasted.
In February, it was revealed that the Arts Council spent €6.6m on an IT system that was never delivered. The Government subsequently announced a full review into the operations of the council.
In April, RTÉ confirmed it was forced to write down €3.6m on a partly failed IT system. The system was funded by some of the proceeds of the sale of around nine acres of land at its Donnybrook campus, according to the broadcaster.
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