Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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154. To ask the Minister for Finance the semi-State companies which absorbed the private pension levy; and the semi-State companies which have passed the cost of the levy onto their pension funds. [38279/16]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The Pension Scheme Levy was introduced in 2011. For the years 2011, 2012 and 2013 the rate was 0.60% of the scheme assets. For the year 2014 the rate was 0.75% of the assets and for the year 2015, the final year of the levy, the rate was 0.15%. Under the legislation, 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 needed to adjust current or prospective benefits payable under a scheme to take account of the levy. It is up to the trustees or insurer to decide whether, when and how the levy should be passed on and to what extent, given the particular circumstances of the pension schemes for which they are responsible.

However, the legislation also includes safeguards aimed at ensuring that should the option of reducing scheme benefits be taken, it must be applied in an equitable fashion across the different classes of scheme members that could include active, deferred and retired members. 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 levy. Where pension scheme trustees or an insurer took the decision to treat the levy as an expense of the pension scheme, they would have adjusted current or prospective benefits payable to members under that scheme. The consequence of this treatment by the trustees or insurer could be a permanent reduction in members' benefits.

As Minister for Finance I do not have responsibility for Semi-State Companies in general and would not therefore have detailed information on how each operated the Pension Scheme Levy and can only deal with treatment of funded schemes of bodies within the aegis of my Department. I will write directly to the Deputy in respect of the treatment of funded schemes within the aegis of my Department as all the relevant material has not been made available in time to provide a complete response.