The Pensions Board prosecutes Director for non remittance of pension contributions

Commenting on the conviction in this case, the Chief Executive of the Pensions Board, Mr. Brendan Kennedy, said, “The conviction today should act as a warning to all employers and directors that The Pensions Board treats the failure of the employer to remit pension contributions to the trustees of the pension scheme as a very serious offence. The Board is currently preparing prosecutions of a number of other employers and directors. We advise any employer with outstanding pension contributions to contact the pension scheme to regularise their position.”

On Friday 15 October 2010 in Limerick District Court today, a Director of a Property Company, was convicted of five offences of failing to remit pension contributions to the Construction Workers Pension Scheme (CWPS) and fined a sum of €1,000 on each of the five counts with six months to pay.  He was also ordered to pay €5,000 in legal costs. He was also convicted and fined a sum of €1,000 in respect of each of the five offences before the court, with three months to pay. The case was heard by Judge O’Donnell who noted that the non-payment of pension contributions by the company was deliberate and occurred during the construction boom period.

The company which had deducted pension contributions from the wages and salaries of its employees between October 2006 and December 2008 for remittance to the trustees of CWPS and failed to remit the pension contributions to the trustees within the statutory timeframe.  The offences of the company were committed with the consent or connivance of or attributable to neglect on the part the Company Director contrary to the provisions of Section 58A(1) and Section 3 of the Act.

Ms Mary Hutch, Head of Regulation at The Pensions Board in giving evidence on behalf of The Pensions Board, stated that on foot of receiving complaints from employees that this employer had deducted pension contributions from their wages and salaries but failed to remit them to the relevant scheme, the Board’s investigative personnel carried out a search of the company’s premises on July 23rd 2009 to investigate this matter.  It was stated in Court that it was estimated that the employees’ pension contributions which were deducted from employees’ wages and salaries but not remitted to the relevant scheme came to a sum of €53,527.34. This meant that employees working for that company were not covered for sick-pay benefits or death-in-service benefits between October 2006 and December 2008.

The Pensions Board supervises occupational pension schemes and monitors employers’ compliance with the legislation relating to the collection and remittance of pension contributions.

End of Press Release