Master trusts and single employer pension schemes that plan to continue as standalone schemes account for 93 per cent of occupational pension assets in Ireland, as at 1 July 2026, the Pensions Authority has revealed.

In an accompanying statement to the Pensions Authority’s Annual Report and Accounts 2025, Irish pensions regulator, Brendan Kennedy, said the authority was confident that considerable further progress on consolidation would be made by the end of 2026.

At the end of 2025, total Personal Retirement Savings Account (PRSA) assets reached €23bn, an increase of 24 per cent over the year, following an increase of 55 per cent in 2024.

The authority is therefore planning to devote more resources to the supervision of PRSAs.

“The current regulations governing PRSA contracts date back to 2002, and the authority is considering whether they provide an adequate degree of protection for PRSA contributors, and if appropriate, will bring proposals to the Minister for Social Protection,” Kennedy stated.

He added that occupational pension scheme trustees were facing a significant number of challenges this year, with the most significant being volatile and unpredictable investment markets and increased concerns around cyber risk.

While the investment management, IT, and administration of pension schemes are typically outsourced, these issues remain the responsibility of trustees, and the authority is expecting to see evidence of engagement by trustees on these matters.

The Pensions Authority also welcomed the government’s announcement that authorisation legislation will be published later this year, with “significant progress” having been made.

Once the legislation comes into force, all schemes intending to continue operating will need to apply for authorisation, which the authority said would be a significant change for itself and the sector.

“In addition to the introduction of authorisation, another significant change for trustees will be the obligation to submit increasingly detailed data and information to the authority to satisfy our obligations to EIOPA and also our ongoing supervisory needs,” Kennedy stated.

“We will issue further communication on both of these matters over the coming months.”

In her chair’s statement, Pensions Authority chair, Fiona Tierney, noted that the five-year derogation from the new IORP II obligations for pre-existing one-member arrangements expired in April 2026.

“The authority has extensively engaged with administrators and trustees to support the considerable work that has already been done to ensure pension schemes meet their compliance obligations, and this work continues,” she added.

“However, there are still trustees who have failed to engage with the compliance process and are leaving themselves open to the risk of prosecution by the authority.”

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