The High Court ruled that Irish rules governing overseas pension transfers do not require a personal retirement savings account (PRSA) holder to live or work in the country receiving the fund.
Mr Justice Ryan delivered the judgment on 1 April 2014 in a case brought by Michael O’Sullivan against Canada Life Assurance (Ireland) Limited. The dispute concerned Mr O’Sullivan’s request to transfer his PRSA to a scheme in Malta.
Mr O’Sullivan opened the PRSA in February 2013. Its value was €116,069.46 on 13 February that year. He first sought to transfer it to Momentum Pensions Malta Limited. Canada Life refused, citing his lack of residence and employment in Malta and concerns about whether the overseas scheme met the legal requirements. He later withdrew that instruction and sought a transfer to another Maltese scheme, Centaurus Retirement Benefit Scheme. Canada Life also refused that request, saying it was not satisfied the scheme would provide “relevant benefits” under the tax legislation.
The case began as an application for an interlocutory injunction to compel the transfer. By agreement, the parties treated the hearing of that application as the trial of the action. The Revenue Commissioners participated as amicus curiae, offering written and oral submissions on how the rules should be interpreted.
The judge considered two issues: whether the proposed transfer was bona fide and whether the Maltese scheme provided relevant benefits. On bona fides, the court said a provider may make further enquiries where information available to it gives reason for suspicion. But it found no such information in this case. Mr O’Sullivan had submitted the required declaration, and the court said Canada Life had no basis to question his motives or to conduct a general investigation. Bona fides was therefore not a legitimate ground for refusal on the facts before the court.
On relevant benefits, the court considered that the statutory definition arose in legislation dealing with occupational pensions and had an employment connection in that context. Applying that requirement to PRSAs would frustrate the 2003 regulations’ stated purpose of allowing both occupational pension and PRSA transfers overseas. The judge therefore interpreted the regulations purposively and concluded that the employment connection did not apply to PRSAs.
The judgment concludes that the transfer regulations do not require Mr O’Sullivan to reside or work in the destination country. The source ends with that conclusion and does not set out a separate formal order directing Canada Life to make the transfer.