A search through the Pensions Board website and
http://www.irishstatutebook.ie throws up the following section in the 2002 Act -
"(a) to ensure, in so far as is reasonable, that the contributions payable by the employer and the members of the scheme, where appropriate, are received and that the sums referred to in subsection (1) or (2) of section 58A are invested in accordance with paragraph (b) within 10 days of the latest date on which those sums should have been remitted or paid by the employer under subsection (1) or (2), as the case may be, of section 58A;
"
It's not clear to me because this is amending an earlier Act, but from what I can tell this means that the funds received must be invested within 10 days of the 21 days from the end of the month ("by which those sums should have been remitted . . . ".
In other words the trustees must ensure that the funds deducted from an employees payslip are remitted within 21 days of the end of the month of the deduction. The funds must then be invested within 10 days of the end of the 21 day period. Essentially this means by the end of the (31 day) month following deduction.
This seems unduly lenient in this day of electronic trading. I don't understand why the pension company shouldn't have to buy the units within 1 business day of receiving the funds.
Another thing to note is that the 21 day period is from the end of the month of deduction, not from the date of the deduction. If you happen to be paid on the 5th of January, the trustees can remit the money any time up to the 21st of February and the pension company don't have to invest it until something like the 2nd or 3rd of March. Seems crazy to me.
z