Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 February 2026
400. Deputy Séamus McGrath asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance to provide details in relation to levies applied to ESB worker pensions during the financial crash; whether these levies are still being applied; and if it is intended to end them at a future point. [9393/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy will be aware, an annual levy was charged on pension schemes from 2011 to 2015 in accordance with section 125B Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999. The levy was introduced in the wake of the global financial crash, at a time when the economy was in very serious difficulty. The levy was charged on the market value of assets in pension schemes held on 30 June in each year at a rate of 0.6% (2011 to 2013), 0.75% (2014) and 0.15% (2015). It is important to note that this levy was discontinued from 2016 and is no longer in operation.
Liability for the levy rested with trustees of pension schemes and others responsible for the management of pension fund assets. Under the relevant legislation, payment of the levy was treated as a necessary expense of a pension scheme and it was a matter for the trustees or insurers to decide when and how the levy should be passed on to scheme members and to what extent, given the particular circumstances of the pension schemes for which they were responsible.
I have no detailed information on the decisions made by any pension fund trustees or others in relation to the passing on of the full or a partial impact of the levy to the current, deferred or former (retired) members of pension schemes. Therefore, I am not in a position, nor is it within my remit, to comment on the specifics relating to the application of the pension levy to ESB pensions.
I understand however that in cases where trustees have made a decision to pass on the impact of the levy, in full or in part, to pensioners, a smaller reduction in pension payments over the lifetime of the pension may have been made in many cases in preference to a larger reduction over a shorter period. This may be the case for this pension fund.
