This quarter will be a busy one for standalone pension schemes, as Trustees manage the new governance obligations introduced by IORP II.

But where do you start? Read on for a summary of some of the key things to focus on in the coming weeks...

While the nation waits to see if the planned 2024 Auto Enrolment (AE) rollout stays on schedule, why not use this time to promote your workplace pension benefit? 

The higher your participation rates, the less AE will be an issue for you and your people.

With that in mind, we've designed an interactive Employer Toolkit, with a full suite of downloadable assets for you to use to promote the plan internally.

Our Pension Education Team also runs regular Non-Member Webinars, covering the whys and hows of joining the plan.

We can provide the tools you need to promote your workplace pension benefit easily and effectively.

Irish Life will close for the Christmas period on Friday, 22 December 2023 at 12pm and will re-open on Tuesday, 2 January 2024 at 9am. 

To understand how this might affect your December contribution payments, click below.

In Q3, the Irish Life EMPOWER Master Trust membership grew to over 110,000,

with over €5.1 billion currently invested, reaffirming our position as the largest master trust in Ireland.

Aside from our scale, experience and expertise in the world of pensions, there are a myriad of reasons

to choose EMPOWER Master Trust. 

Key features include a wholly independent trustee, meaningful member engagement, responsible investing,

unparalleled investment in technology and a unique personalised default investment strategy…

Following a strategic review, Irish Life Corporate Business (ILCB) has decided to close the Indexed Irish Equity Fund and the Fidelity Europe Middle East and Africa (FIDEMEA) Fund from November 2023. 

Abdrn has also notified us of their intention to close the GARS fund, with effect from November 24, 2023. 

With that in mind, ILCB has completed a review of the fund options and identified the following replacement funds:

We have written to all Trustees and members with assets invested in these funds to let them know about the changes, which will be applied later this month.

Detailed information on the new replacement funds is available our Investment Centre - Funds - ILCB | Irish Life Corporate Business