Ciara McLoughlin

Consultant

Ciara McLoughlin is a Consultant on the Pensions team in the Employment & Benefits Department.

Ciara McLoughlin

Ciara advises trustees and employers on all aspects of pensions law including corporate M&A transactions, carrying out due diligence and advising on potential issues and solutions where pension liabilities may arise. She advises on the day-to-day management and administration of schemes including: scheme documentation amendments and benefit design, funding arrangements, liability management exercises such as buy-ins, winding up of schemes, GDPR  and IORPS II implementation and pension disputes.

She was appointed by the Minister for Social Protection to the Pensions Council, is a Member of the council of the Association of Pension Lawyers of Ireland, a Qualified Pension Trustee (Irish Institute of Pensions Management), and a member of the UK Association of Pension Lawyers.

Recent significant matters include:

  • Advising both employers and trustees on the wind up and closure of defined benefit schemes to future accrual and cutting the link with final pensionable salary
  • Acting as day to day legal advisor to trustees of some of the largest pension schemes in Ireland
  • Advising on the pensions implications for J&E Davy on the agreed sale of its businesses to Bank of Ireland and on the sale of Davy Global Fund Management to IQ-EQ
  • Advising DCC Group on the pensions aspects of its acquisition Jones Oil and Campus Oil.

Related Knowledge

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Article and Insights

Employment (Contractual Retirement Ages) Act 2025: Key Pensions Considerations

We highlight some key pension-related considerations for employers and pension scheme trustees.

Ian Devlin
Partner
Ian Devlin
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Article and Insights

The Pensions Authority’s 2025 Supervisory Findings and the Path to Authorisation

We've summarised key findings from the Pensions Authority's Supervisory Activities Report, showing standards expected of trustees for authorisation.

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Partner
Ian Devlin
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Article and Insights

Surplus in Defined Benefit Pension Schemes: Opportunity, Risk and Legal Complexity

Managing DB scheme surpluses: trustee and sponsor options, Irish and UK differences, and challenges as buy‑out approaches

Ian Devlin
Partner
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Auto-Enrolment Alert: Minimum Contribution Standards for Exemption Now in Force

New Regulations have introduced minimum contribution standards for a workplace pension (effective 1 January 2026) for the exemption from auto-enrol...

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Partner
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Minimum Pension Contributions Accelerated Under Auto-Enrolment

Social Protection plans minimum pension contribution standards soon; warns stakeholders against auto-enrolment circumvention attempts.

Ian Devlin
Partner
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Article and Insights

Charting a Course to Auto-Enrolment: Key Dates for Employers

The Department of Social Protection is gearing up to issue the first Auto-Enrolment Payroll Notifications to employers from early December.

Ian Devlin
Partner
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Article and Insights

Navigating Pension Waters: A Deep Dive into the Pensions Authority’s 2024 Supervisory Activities

We summarise the key findings of the Pensions Authority 2024 Supervisory Activities report, highlighting takeaways for pension trustees.

Ciara McLoughlin
Consultant
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Go-Live Date Delayed: A Silver Lining for Employers in Planning for Auto-Enrolment

The timeline for Ireland’s much-anticipated Ireland’s Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System, My Future Fund, has been updated

Ian Devlin
Partner
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Amcor Pension Case: High Court Upholds Employer’s Immediate Termination Rights

The High Court delivered its highly anticipated decision in the Amcor case, confirming that reasonable notice should not be implied into the terms ...

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Partner
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Finance Act 2024: New Era for Pension Savings

A new era for pension savings dawns as the Finance Act 2024 is signed into law. We discuss the key changes introduced by the Finance Act 2024 which...

Ian Devlin
Partner
Ian Devlin