Our recent Gender Pension Parity Research found that women in Ireland would need to work for 8 more years than men to build up the same size pension pot because of a 36% Gender Pension Gap. 

A key message in the report was the need for women to be offered gender specific awareness and education supports. At Irish Life, we are delighted to let you know about a fantastic new campaign we have coming up, where we offer your female members a series of communications and female focused supports, designed to build awareness of the gap, boost financial literacy and confidence in the pensions space and encourage pro-activity.

On November 21, we will host a live Women & Pensions: Fast Track to Financial Empowerment webinar, covering key topics such as...

Our dedicated Pension Education Team host regular live and on-demand webinars, covering the essential things that members need to know throughout their pension journey.

With the introduction of Auto Enrolment (AE) around the corner, our upcoming 'Join the Plan' session on October 31 will be invaluable for non-members to learn the advantages of joining their workplace pension plan, particularly at this key moment in time.

We encourage you all to share this registration link for the webinar with anyone who has not yet joined your existing workplace pension plan so they can learn about the advantages of joining before the AE rollout. 

Those who register, but are unable to attend on the day, will receive a recording of the session to watch on-demand.

On 18 September 2024, the Minister of Finance outlined some key decisions taken by the Government in respect of the SFT, which are likely to affect changes to the Finance Act soon.

The SFT is a limit on the value of benefits which an individual can build up in their lifetime from Irish pension arrangements. Any excess value of benefits above the SFT is liable to a chargeable excess tax (“CET”), levied at 40%. The current €2 million limit has remained unchanged since 2014.

The key decisions taken by the Minister of Finance include...

Our new Customer Solutions division has been working hard to ensure we consistently deliver excellent service to you and your people.

Our unparalleled scale of resources and extensive talent pool has allowed us to meet agreed Service Level Agreements whilst also managing spikes in volumes and complexity of requests.

At the same time...

We are changing the name of our Sustainable Fund Series to the New World Fund Series. For example, the Sustainable Equity (ESG) Fund will become the New World Indexed All Country Equity Fund.

The Funds within the series are all Article 8 and form the cornerstone of our responsible invested range, as well as underpin our Empower multi-asset range. These Funds will continue to enable and support a better world while also prioritising the risk and return needs of members.  

The table below outlines the full list of Fund name changes...

Every year, we review the long-term Strategic Asset Allocations (SAA) of our EMPOWER range of multi asset funds. After this year’s review, changes have been made across the EMPOWER High Growth, Growth, Cautious Growth, Flexible ARF and Stability Funds.

These changes involve three key investment areas: 

1. Bonds
2. Equities
3. Infrastructure

The changes we have made include...

Our Wellbeing team is committed to working with organisations like yours to help employees lead healthier lives, and to support managers and employees to build a culture where everyone can thrive. Each month, we create a Wellbeing Calendar with a unique theme, featuring various useful tips and resources you can share with your employees to improve their wellbeing.

As summer winds down and routines return, our September Wellbeing Calendar is all about taking the time to reset, refocus and make positive changes. Check out the calendar for plenty of reset tips, healthy recipes, and articles from our Wellbeing Consultants. With September also coinciding with Suicide Prevention Day, Stephen Scally addresses common suicide myths and offers support. 

You can always access the updated Wellbeing Calendar on your dedicated Hub, or simply click the button below to download the September edition.

Help us in supporting the runners at the Irish Life Dublin Marathon on October 27th!

At Irish Life, everything we do is working towards helping more people in Ireland to enjoy a better life today and to build better futures. One of the ways we support people is through our sponsorship of the iconic Irish Life Dublin Marathon.

It’s a special day that sees over 20,000 people achieve an incredible goal of conquering 26 miles around Dublin City, while competing in the fourth largest Marathon in Europe. 

Best of luck to...