Did you know that as an Employer (even if you are a small business owner with no more than one employee) you have a legal obligation to make a PRSA available to your employee/(s)?

So what is a PRSA? A PRSA is a Personal Retirement Savings Account. It is a long term pension investment plan and allows employees to create a pension fund for themselves in preparation for their retirement. PRSA’s are flexible insofar as employees can switch from one PRSA to another at any time free of charge.

So what exactly are your obligations as an Employer?   Sections 121 and 123 of the Pensions Acts, 1990 – 2002 places this obligation on employers to make Personal Retirement Savings Account (PRSAs) available to some of their employees. These employees, termed excluded employees, are any employees that are not members of a pension scheme or who need to wait longer than 6 months from the date of commencing employment to be admitted as members of the scheme. Therefore if you not operate a pension scheme, all of your employees are deemed to be excluded employees.

Broadly speaking the duties that an Employer must carry out for these employees are to have a contractual arrangement in place with at least one PRSA provider to enable employees to participate in at least one Standard PRSA, notify all employees of their right to contribute to a Standard PRSA and, if they wish to participate in a PRSA, allow deduction from salary and onward transmission of the required contribution amount to the PRSA provider.

As a Financial broker we can assist you in fulfilling this important obligation. We can set up a contractual arrangement with a life company which enables employees to avail of a PRSA, if they so wish. You will be furnished with a Certificate which is evidence of the fact that you have fulfilled your obligation in this regard.   We can furnish you an information pack enclosing a specific letter advising your employers of their rights in this regard, together with a form, which they must return to you, on which they can indicate whether they wish to speak to a Financial Advisor in relation to the option of effecting a PRSA Plan. We can meet with your employee/(s) as a team to give a presentation on PRSA’s and individually thereafter as required.

If you are concerned that you are not fulfilling your obligations in relation to having such an arrangement in place, please contact us.