Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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157. To ask the Minister for Finance if he is aware of cases such as one in County Kildare (details supplied) where the trustees of private pension funds reduced pensions in payment on a permanent basis as a result of the introduction of the pension levy so that these reductions continue now into the future even when the levy ceases, if this is allowed or if anything can be done by the pensioners to reverse this position; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24188/16]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I announced in my Budget 2014 speech that the original 0.6% stamp duty levy on private pension funds 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 would expire at the end of last year and this has now happened. As both levies have ceased no more payments will be due in respect of them.

The chargeable persons for the pension fund levies 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 levies 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 levies.

It is up to the trustees to decide whether and how the levies 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. While the final levy expired at the end of 2015 the manner in which the trustees choose to pass them on may entail a longer term but lesser reduction in pension payments to retired members than would have been the case if the reductions were made over the temporary period when the levies applied. This could potentially take the form of a lifetime reduction. I do not have specific information in relation to the decisions of individual trustees regarding the passing on of the levy. However, should the option of reducing scheme benefits be taken, in no case may the reduction in an individual member's or class of member's benefits exceed the member's or class of member's share of the levies.