150.— The Bankruptcy Act 1988 is amended by the insertion, after section 44, of the following sections:

“Pensions in Bankruptcy.

44A.— (1) Subject to subsection (2), where a person is adjudicated bankrupt, and he or she is, or may become entitled to, payments under a relevant pension arrangement, assets relating to the arrangement (other than payments already received by the bankrupt, or that the bankrupt was entitled to receive, under the arrangement) shall not vest in the Official Assignee for the benefit of the creditors of the bankrupt.

(2) Where a bankrupt has an interest in or entitlement under a relevant pension arrangement which would, if the bankrupt performed an act or exercised an option, cause that debtor to receive from or at the request of the person administering that relevant pension arrangement—

(a) an income, or

(b) an amount of money other than income,

in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, that bankrupt shall be considered as being in receipt of such income, and such amount of money shall vest in the Official Assignee or the trustee in bankruptcy.

(3) Subsection (2) applies where—

(a) the bankrupt is entitled at the date of being adjudicated a bankrupt to perform the act or exercise the option referred to in subsection (2),

(b) was entitled at any time before the date of the adjudication, to perform the act or exercise the option referred to in subsection (2), but had not performed the act or exercised the option, or

(c) will become entitled within 5 years of the date of the adjudication to perform the act or exercise the option referred to in subsection (2).

(4) Where subsection (2) applies, the Official Assignee or the trustee in bankruptcy may where he or she considers that it would be beneficial to the creditors of the bankrupt to do so, perform an act or exercise an option referred to in subsection (2) in place of the bankrupt.

(5) In this section and in sections 44B and 85D a reference to a relevant pension arrangement means:

(a) a retirement benefits scheme, within the meaning of section 771 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, for the time being approved by the Revenue Commissioners for the purposes of Chapter 1 of Part 30 of that Act;

(b) an annuity contract or a trust scheme or part of a trust scheme for the time being approved by the Revenue Commissioners under section 784 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997;

(c) a PRSA contract, within the meaning of section 787A of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, in respect of a PRSA product, within the meaning of that section;

(d) a qualifying overseas pension plan within the meaning of section 787M of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997;

(e) a public service pension scheme within the meaning of section 1 of the Public Service Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2004;

(f) a statutory scheme, within the meaning of section 770(1) of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, other than a public service pension scheme referred to in paragraph (e);

(g) such other pension arrangement as may be prescribed by the Minister, following consultation with the Ministers for Finance, Social Protection and Public Expenditure and Reform.

Excessive pension contributions by bankrupt.

44B.— (1) Where, on application by the Official Assignee or the trustee in bankruptcy, the Court is satisfied that the bankrupt, or a person on his or her behalf, has within the 3 years prior to the adjudication made contributions to a relevant pension arrangement under which the bankrupt is, or may become entitled to, payments and which contributions—

(a) were excessive in view of the bankrupt’s financial circumstances when those contributions were made, and

(b) had the effect of—

(i) materially contributing to the bankrupt’s inability to pay his or her debts, or

(ii) substantially reducing the sum available for distribution to the creditors,

the Court may make such order in relation to the relevant pension arrangement as it considers appropriate for the purpose of ensuring that the contributions which the Court considers to be excessive or any part of such contributions can be vested in the Official Assignee or the trustee in bankruptcy to be made available for distribution to the creditors.

(2) In considering an application under subsection (1) and in determining whether or not the contributions made by the bankrupt to a relevant pension arrangement were excessive the Court may have regard to all the financial circumstances of the bankrupt and in particular:

(a) whether the bankrupt made payments to his or her creditors in respect of debts due to those creditors on a timely basis at or about the time when the bankrupt made the contribution concerned;

(b) whether the bankrupt was obliged to make contributions of the amount or percentage of income as the payments actually made under his or her terms and conditions of employment and if so obliged, whether the bankrupt or a person who as respects the bankrupt is a relative could have materially influenced the creation of such obligation;

(c) the amount of the contributions paid, including the percentage of total income of the bankrupt in each tax year concerned which such contributions represent;

(d) the amount of the contributions paid, in each of the 6 years prior to the making of the adjudication including the percentage of total income of the bankrupt which such contributions represent in each of those years;

(e) the age of the bankrupt at the relevant times;

(f) the percentage limits which applied to the bankrupt in relation to relief from income tax for the purposes of making contributions to a relevant pension arrangement in each of the 6 years prior to the adjudication; and

(g) the extent of provision made by the bankrupt in relation to any relevant pension arrangement prior to the making of the contributions concerned.

(3) In this section “relative” as respects a person, means a brother, sister, parent, spouse or civil partner of the person or a child of the person or of the spouse or civil partner.”.