Employer PRSA Scheme
Access
Employers who:
-
Do not currently operate an occupational pension scheme for their employees ,OR
-
Who operate an occupational pension scheme but there is limited eligibility for membership for retirement benefits, OR
-
Who operate an occupational pension scheme but there is a waiting period to join for retirement benefits of more than 6 months, OR
-
Who operate an occupational pension scheme but do not provide an AVC facility to all employees
-
Must provide employees with access to at least one Standard PRSA where contributions can be made by payroll deduction, i.e. under the net pay system.
Obligations on employer
Employees who fall into any of the categories above are referred to as ‘excluded employees’
The employer is required to:
-
Notify excluded employees of their right to contribute to the Standard PRSA by payroll deduction.
-
For employees who wish to contribute, deduct employee contributions from wages and remit to the Standard PRSA
-
Allow PRSA providers and intermediaries worksite ‘reasonable access’ to excluded employees at the workplace for the purpose of ‘concluding standard PRSA contracts’.
-
Allow excluded employees, subject to work requirements, ‘reasonable’ paid leave to enable them to make arrangements for the establishment of a Standard PRSA.
Employers are NOT obliged to contribute to any employee’s PRSA; their obligations relate principally to providing certain employees with access to a Standard PRSA.
Remittance of contribution
Employers who are required to provide employees with access to a Standard PRSA at work, to which contributions may be made by employees by deduction from salary, are subject to two obligations in relation to such conditions:
-
Remit the PRSA contributions deducted within 21 days of the end of the month in which the deduction is made from the employee’s wages or salary, to the PRSA provider’s custodian account. The employer can not make any deduction from these contributions before remission to the PRSA provider.
-
Notify each employee each month of PRSA contributions deducted from wages, and any employer contributions, made during the previous month. This can be done through the employee’s payslip.
