The Irish government could skip payment of its annual contribution to the €15.5 billion ($21.5 billion) National Pensions Reserve Fund, Dublin, as part of a government proposal to take over 14 public pension plans, according to a bill introduced in the Irish parliament.
The bill would allow the government to subtract from its annual NPRF contributions the amount of assets transferred from the 14 plans.
The asset transfers are expected to take place later this year or in 2010, according to a news release on the website of Finance Minister Brian Lenihan.
The pension plans — six university plans and eight public agency plans — had a combined €1.7 billion in assets and €3 billion in liabilities at the end of 2008. The government would take on the liabilities and move the plans to a pay-as-you-go schedule.
