The take-up of personal retirement savings accounts (PRSAs) improved slightly in the second quarter of the year, according to figures released yesterday by the Pensions Board.

The latest numbers show that at the end of June, 78,043 PRSAs, or portable pensions, had been sold by the 10 companies that provide them. This marked an increase of 6 per cent on the number of PRSAs sold at the end of March.

A breakdown of the end-June numbers showed that almost 60,000 of the PRSAs sold by the end of June were standard products, with the remainder designated as non-standard.

Standard PRSAs must be operated within a number of parameters, including a cap on charges in excess of 5 per cent of contributions paid. Non-standard PRSAs can apply higher charges.

The total value of assets in PRSAs at the end of June was €544.8 million. This compared to €522 million three months earlier.

The June figures also showed that 78,590 employers had designated a PRSA provider at the end of the first half, up from 77,667 at the end of March.

However, just 9,680 of these designations had led to active accounts by the end of June.

Some 31,154 employees within these 9,680 organisations had taken out a PRSA through their employer at June 30th, a 6 per cent increase on the end of the previous quarter.

Since 2003, all employers have been required to enter into a contract with a PRSA provider as part of the Government's strategy to increase pensions coverage.