More than one-third of the companies expected to apply to become a provider of a new type of pension did so on the first day for submissions, according to the Pensions Board.
About six of the 17 companies that met the Pensions Board yesterday for preliminary meetings applied to become providers of Personal Retirement Savings Accounts (PRSAs).
"We're happy that we have got off to a good start," said Ms Anne Maher, the Pensions Board chief executive. She described yesterday as a "significant milestone" the implementation of the National Pensions Policy Initiative.
PRSAs are a portable form of pension designed to boost private pension coverage to 70 per cent among Irish adults. Currently, just one in two Irish workers owns a pension.
All six providers that submitted applications yesterday applied to become providers of multiple products, according to Ms Maher. This means they intend to sell more than just a standard PRSA, where charges are limited to 5 per cent of contributions and an annual management charge of 1 per cent of the fund. Charges on non-standard PRSAs are not capped.
The Pensions Board and the Revenue Commissioners must approve PRSA products within three months of their submission.
PRSAs are expected to be available from early 2003 and employers will be obliged to provide employees with access to a standard PRSA from next summer.
