A senior executive at Mercer has been appointed as the State's first Pensions Ombudsman.
Mr Paul Kenny is currently Head of Retirement Research at Mercer Human Resources Consulting and will take up his new post at the end of April.
"The appointment of the Pensions Ombudsman is another important element in the reform process which commenced with the passing of the Pensions (Amendment) Act 2002 last year," the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Ms Mary Coughlan, said today.
The Ombudsman has been empowered to investigate complaints in relation to occupational pension schemes and the recently launched Personal Retirement Savings Accounts (PRSAs).
Last month the Pensions Board granted approval to six companies; Ark Life, Canada Life, Eagle Star, Hibernian Life & Pensions, Irish Life Assurance and New Ireland Assurance, to sell 41 PRSA products.