Practice Areas

Our experience includes advising:

• the trustees of the Arnotts Staff Pension Fund on an innovative scheme surplus proposal
• the trustees of the Aviva Ireland Staff Pension Fund on the amalgamation of a number of group pension schemes
• Glanbia Co-Op on a significant pensions fund deficit issue in connection with its proposed acquisition of the Irish businesses of Glanbia plc
• the Nestlé Ireland Pensions Fund on an EU corss-border scheme merger
• the Joint Administrators of Nortel Networks (a UK administration extending to 18 jurisdictions, including Ireland, under the jurisdiction of the High Court in London) on minimising funding exposure with respect to its Irish pension operations
• Robt. Roberts on a restructuring of its defined benefit pension arrangement, including an increase in members’ normal retirement date and the making of an application to the Pensions Authority to reduce members’ benefits
• the trustees of the Univar Ireland Pension Scheme on a restructuring and the commencement of future benefit accrual on a defined contribution basis
• Wolseley on the pensions aspects of the sale of its Irish operations which involved co-ordinating and handling the complexities in respect of 8 group pension schemes in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland

The Pensions Group provides both general and project specific pensions advice including:

• Pension scheme design and planning (e.g. defined benefit and defined contribution schemes, PRSAs)
• Documentation (e.g. drafting, amending and reviewing trust deeds, explanatory booklets)
• Revenue Commissioners and Pensions Authority approvals (e.g. registering schemes, obtaining tax clearance, consents, dealing with regulator’s queries)
• Trustees duties and obligations (e.g. what trustees should do, member trustees, scope of obligations)
• Trusteeship (e.g. trustee training, compliance with pensions legislation, attendance at trustees meetings)
• Disputes and complaints (e.g. dealing with complaints to the Pensions Ombudsman, Pensions Authority investigations, pensions litigation in the Courts)
• Changes to schemes including restructuring/derisking (e.g. moving from defined benefit to defined contribution or hybrid arrangements, closing schemes to new members, benefit structure changes, altering contribution levels, freezing schemes, new pension arrangements for future service, winding up and creating new schemes, issues for trustees)
• Investment management/custodianship (e.g. preparing agreements, reviewing reports)
• Equality issues (e.g. equal treatment between men and women, ageism)
• Scheme mergers and winding up (e.g. priority of payments, dealing with financial deficit)
• Company M&As and outsourcing’s (e.g. pensions due diligence, warranties, transfer arrangements in both Irish and multi-jurisdictional transactions)
• Pensions aspects of insolvency (e.g. advising liquidators/administrators of insolvent companies on pensions)
• Retirement planning (e.g. tax aspects, Approved Retirement Funds (ARF’s), annuities)
• Pension products (e.g. sales and related documentation)
• EU cross-border pension schemes (e.g. Irish and non Irish cross-border schemes, social and labour laws, interaction issues)