Irish pension schemes guide
Overview
ABBPay supports Irish Occupational schemes, Master Trusts, PRSAs and AVCs. It applies the correct tax relief and produces a contribution file for each provider, which you can download or email.
This guide is for Irish employers.
Before you start
- You have access to Payroll > Pensions for your Irish company.
- You have the scheme details: employer reference, regulator number, Revenue approval and address.
Setting up the scheme
- Go to Payroll > Pensions > Pension Schemes > Add Scheme.
- Choose the provider (Irish Life, Zurich, Aviva, New Ireland, Standard Life, Royal London) or enter any other provider name.
- Choose the scheme type and enter the employer reference, regulator number, Revenue approval and address.
- Save.
Groups and contribution rules
Add a group for each set of employees. A group sets:
- a percentage or fixed euro amount
- before-tax or after-tax contributions
- employee and employer amounts
- the payment day
Before-tax contributions reduce PAYE only, not USC or PRSI. Relief is limited by age, on earnings up to EUR 115,000:
| Age | Relief limit |
|---|---|
| Under 30 | 15% |
| 30 to 39 | 20% |
| 40 to 49 | 25% |
| 50 to 54 | 30% |
| 55 to 59 | 35% |
| 60 and over | 40% |
Pensionable pay is base pay plus pensionable allowances. PRSAs are treated in the same way as occupational schemes.
Enrolling employees
Enrol employees from the group or the employee's Pension section. The employee's profile shows a read-only pension line.
After each pay run
- Complete the pay run.
- Open the pension export screen for the scheme and choose the pay run.
- Download the CSV, or select Email to Provider to send it to the provider (or your company's pension contact). Mark it as submitted when done.
- Optionally switch on auto-send, so the file is emailed when the pay run completes, with retries if sending fails.
- Record the payment with a reference.
Column mapping is available per scheme. At present all providers use the same default layout, so check with your provider that it accepts it.
Reports
The per-pay-run pension schedule lists contributions by scheme, including the PAYE-relieved amount.
Tips and FAQ
Is there a limit on tax relief? Yes, by age, as shown above.
Can I email the file automatically? Yes, with auto-send.