IRELAND - Assets held in Irish Personal Retirement Savings Accounts (PRSAs) have now crossed the £1bn mark, according to the latest figures from the Pensions Board.

Details of the second quarter figures from the Irish pensions regulator reveal assets held within PRSAs rose 11.3% or €127,584 in the three months to June 30 2007, to over €1.05bn.

At the same time, the number of PRSA contracts sold has climbed 8.5% to 111,832 contracts  - over 85,000 of these are described as ‘standard' contracts - and the number of employers who have designated a PRSA provider is up 1% to 82,467 employers.

That said, just 14% of plans receive contributions and the number of PRSA contracts held through these designations is just 40,411 - only 36% of the total contracts held according to Pensions Board data.

All employers are required to provide employees with access to at least one PRSA contract where they are excluded from access to other forms of occupational pension provision but contributions and take-up are then voluntary.

PRSA were introduced by the Irish government on September 15 2003.

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