Michael McCarthy (Cork South West, Labour)
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232. To ask the Minister for Finance the current policy in relation to ending the pension levy on private pensions, in view of the impact the levy is having on pensioners with low incomes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25850/15]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I announced in my Budget 2014 speech that the original 0.6% levy introduced in 2011 to fund the Jobs Initiative would be abolished after 2014 and that levy no longer applies. I did, however introduce an additional levy on pension funds at 0.15% for 2014 and 2015. I did this to, among other things, continue to help fund the Jobs Initiative. I confirmed in my Budget 2015 speech that the additional 0.15% levy will expire at the end of this year.

 The chargeable persons for the pension fund levy are the trustees or other persons (including insurance companies) with responsibility for the management of the assets of the pension schemes or plans. The payment of the levy is treated as a necessary expense of a pension scheme and the trustees or insurer, as appropriate, are entitled, where they decide to do so, to adjust current or prospective benefits payable under a scheme to take account of the levy. It is up to the trustees to decide whether and how the levy should be passed on and who should be impacted and to what extent, given the particular circumstances of the pension schemes for which they are responsible.

However, should the option of reducing scheme benefits be taken, in no case may the reduction in an individual member's or class of members benefits exceed the members or class of members share of the levy.

The value of the funds raised by way of the levy have been used to protect and create jobs and this has helped to create the improving financial and economic position of the State. Taxpayers to whom the impact of the levy may have been passed on by the chargeable persons for the levy will benefit from the changes which I began in Budget 2015 and which will continue in future Budgets to reduce the tax burden on low and middle income earners.