Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Social Protection if a register of all pension schemes approved by the Revenue Commissioners exists; and if so, the statutory agency with which such a register is held; if the relevant legislation covering this can be referred to; the Department that is currently responsible for same; and if the register is available to the public and the information headings under which data is published for each scheme. [38666/12]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Pensions Board maintains a register of occupational pension schemes, all of which are approved by the Revenue Commissioners. In accordance with Section 60 of the Pensions Act 1990, the trustees must register the scheme with the Pensions Board within one year of the commencement date.

The register is not available to the public. However, the Pensions Board will assist scheme members determine the status of their pension scheme should this be required. The Pensions Board, in its annual report, publish details of the total number of registrations within that year along with the accumulated number of schemes and active members since inception. The information includes both defined benefit (subject to the funding standard), defined benefit (not subject to the funding standard) and defined contribution schemes and indicates the range of active scheme membership.

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Social Protection the responsibilities on pension schemes to locate recipients of schemes with particular reference to beneficiaries who cannot be located; the legislation covering this area; the action that must be taken in such cases; if provision for payment must be made in-house, separately with the pension board or if there is a dormant accounts type provision; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38669/12]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Section 59 of the Pensions Act 1990 sets out the general duties of trustees of pension schemes one of which is where appropriate, to make arrangements for the payment of the benefits as provided under the rules of the scheme as they become due. My Department provides support to pension schemes that are having difficulty locating scheme members by providing a mail hosting service. This service operates by sending a letter to a person’s last known address asking them to make contact with their pension scheme.

A group chaired by my Department and comprising of representatives from the Pensions Board and the Revenue Commissioners has considered ways of facilitating a more enhanced pension tracing facility and as a result my Department is working closely with the Revenue Commissioners to put in place an automated solution to capture the required data which will facilitate a person to trace his or her accrued pension rights in former employment.

The establishment of a dormant accounts type fund into which the accrued benefits of untraceable scheme members would be lodged will also be considered.