The Pensions Board has warned that it is considering prosecuting several pension schemes for noncompliance, according to its chief executive, Ms Anne Maher.

The board, which has recently instituted proceedings against the trustees of five pension schemes, has found evidence that large numbers of pension schemes are not compliant with the Pensions Act.

The board has warned representative groups such as the Insurance Industry Federation that arrears and non-compliance cannot be acceptable.

Random compliance monitoring, which the board has been carrying out since 1997, produced clear evidence that pension scheme administration is frequently not up to date.

The board will be continuing to monitor this in 2000 and is currently reviewing relevant procedures in the regulatory area ahead of the introduction of Pensions Bill in the coming months.

The Bill is, according to Ms Maher, likely to introduce an ombudsman for the industry as well as changes to the years of service needed and preservation of benefits.

She added that the Bill was also likely to include some changes relating to the ownership and treatment of surpluses as well as the possibility of requiring compulsory indexation of pension benefits.