Senators approved regulations to the four-year old National Pension Scheme which will increase the protection of pension funds as well as boost the accountability of those involved.

However Senators warned people not to let down their guard regarding their pension funds, saying the employee has a responsibility to ensure that employers are following the process.

The National Pension Scheme (General) Amendment Regulations 2004 specify funding requirements of defined benefit plans to ensure that the plans can pay off the promised retirement benefits.

Where there are any deficits in the funding of the plan, employers will be required to make special payments in order to ensure the plan is properly funded and able to pay the future defined benefits.

The regulations also specify how the Pension Commission should be notified when plans are transferred, reporting requirements, and protect money collected for a pension fund from creditors trying to force a company into liquidation.

Opposition Senate Leader Kim Swan said compliance was key with the onus on employers, and called for less bureaucracy in regulating the scheme.

Independent Sen. Walwyn Hughes joked that for those accountants and actuaries that can understand the scheme, it is "probably very good".

He also said it was "disappointing" to hear that of more than 2,000 plans, only 50 or 60 have been registered over the past five or six years. "At that rate we'll all be dead and gone before we're finished."

Sen. Hughes voiced concerns at the double-whammy of the Contributory Pensions Scheme and the National Pension Scheme, saying middle- and higher-end employers and employees may be able to absorb the parallel costs but lower-end business may find them "crippling" and a "two-edged sword".

Finance Minister Paula Cox told members in the House of Assembly last week that once all plans under the National Pension Scheme have been registered, and compliance issues resolved, she will ask the Pension Commission to explore the possibility of integrating the two.

Both Sen. Hughes and Independent Sen. Carol Ann Bassett were pleased at a clause which effectively deems pensions to be in trust, with Sen. Hughes saying that should also apply to the Contributory Pensions scheme.

However Sen. Bassett encouraged the public to make sure their employer is putting money in their fund.

"Take action, because your voice does have some effect," she said.

Employers who are delinquent with their pensions are usually the same that are delinquent with payments such as health insurance, she said.

"It's just a little pressure that's needed ... I think the employees have a role to play in this."

Government Sen. Neville Tyrrell praised increased cooperation from the Pension Commission.

The biggest concern, however, was the number of plan which are still not registered.

The regulations plainly lay out who should be administrators, he said, and he supported Sen. Bassett's call for individuals to ensure their funds are being dealt with appropriately.

Government Sen. Raymond Tannock, responding to the comments, said these rules and regulations are for "those few" who have a problem following the Pension Scheme. "If we don't protect people now, we will have to pay later."

The employer also has a responsibility to ensure the employee knows who the pension administrator is, he said, as well as notify employees of reports from the administrator and verify employees receive those reports.