Frequently Asked Questions

You normally have two options in relation to your deferred pension in the Scheme:

1. You can choose to keep your pension in the Scheme, where it is due to be paid to you when you retire; or
2. Alternatively, you can choose to transfer the cash value of your pension benefits out of the Scheme to another pension arrangement, subject to the consent of the Scheme's Trustee, where necessary.

For a limited period, the Company has requested that the Trustee agree to enhance the transfer value that would otherwise be payable to you from the Scheme. This enhancement plus your Statutory Scheme Transfer Value is the ETV Offer.

The ETV Offer being made to you, as outlined in your offer letter.

This is the pension that is due to be paid to you from the Scheme if you do not transfer-out your benefits, subject to the provisions governing the Scheme. This pension will be paid from age 63.

Your deferred pension (as outlined in your offer letter) will be adjusted each year, from your date of leaving up to the date payment commences. The annual adjustment will be the lower of the annual increase in inflation or 5% per annum.

Yes, you may receive your pension before age 63, subject to the consent of the Trustee in certain circumstances. If you receive your pension early, it will be reduced to reflect that it will be paid to you for longer in retirement.

Under the Rules of the Scheme, pensions earned prior to 5 April 2000 are automatically increased each year once they come into payment in line with annual Consumer Price Inflation, subject to a maximum increase of 5% a year.

For pension benefits earned after 5 April 2000 increases are not automatic and increases on this portion of your pension may be granted annually at the discretion of the Company and Trustee. Discretionary pension increases are evaluated on an annual basis having regard to all relevant considerations.

Your offer letter sets out the amount of pension you have earned prior to and after 5 April 2000.

Provided you have not waived your entitlement to a retirement lump sum when you left the Company (e.g. if you chose not to waive your right to a lump sum as part of a redundancy package), you will have built up an entitlement to take a tax-efficient lump sum from the Scheme when you retire. Your maximum tax-efficient lump sum from the Scheme will be based on your service and salary with the Company while you were a member of the Scheme and can be provided by foregoing some of your Scheme pension or through your AVCs, or from both.

You should discuss this in more detail during your financial advice session.

This is the current cash value of your deferred pension in the Scheme. The assumptions used to calculate the Scheme Transfer Value are set by the Trustee and are in line with the Statutory Transfer Value prescribed in regulations.

No. The ETV must be paid into a Personal Retirement Bond, to a new employer’s pension scheme or to a Personal Retirement Savings Account.

The ETV Offer is valid until 5pm on 3 November 2020.

If you are interested in the ETV Offer, you will need to register your interest by returning the Expression of Interest form either by e-mail to etv@willistowerswatson.com or by post to: ETV, Willis Towers Watson Life and Pensions Limited, Elm Park, Merrion Road, Dublin 1, D04 P231.

You should express your interest as soon as possible, but not later than 18 September 2020. A meeting will then be scheduled with a financial advisor.

If you decide to accept the offer, you will need to complete and return the appropriate forms at the latest, by 5pm on 3 November 2020.

Currently the Company has no plans to repeat this offer for you in the future.

If you would like to accept the ETV Offer, you must, in the first instance, register your interest by 18 September 2020. You must then attend an individual financial advice meeting with WTW L&P.

After your financial advice meeting, you will receive a written recommendation. You will need to complete the forms provided at your financial advice meeting and provide any additional information you are required to submit by 5pm on 3 November 2020.

The offer provides for a 14 day ‘cooling off’ period from the date you accept the offer, during which time you can change your mind. You may not change your mind after this period has elapsed.

If you do not want to accept the ETV Offer, you are not required to take any action. If you take no action then your pension will remain in the Scheme, where it is due to be paid to you when you retire.

It should be noted that attending the individual advice session does not bind you to accept the offer.

After the deadline, you will still retain the option to transfer your benefits out of the Scheme. However, the offer of an enhancement to the Scheme transfer value will no longer exist.

This guide and the personalised offer letter you received provide detailed information in relation to the ETV Offer. You may also access this website to learn more about the ETV Offer.

If you have a general question in relation to the ETV Offer throughout the offer period, you can contact the Pensions Team.

The Company has engaged an impartial financial advisor to provide you with advice in relation to the ETV Offer, at no cost to you. It is essential that you fully understand the potential consequences of transferring out of the Scheme prior to accepting the offer. For this reason, members will be required to take financial advice before they can avail of the ETV Offer.

Yes, members may bring their spouse to their individual meeting.

You may also take additional advice from your own financial advisor if you wish, but this will be at your own expense. If you do use your own financial advisor, you should check whether your financial advisor is a pension specialist and is fully qualified to deliver the advice you require.

You should note that using the appointed financial advisor is compulsory if you wish to accept the ETV Offer even if you do engage your own financial advisor.

If you choose to also seek advice from your own financial advisor, they may receive commission from the new pension provider after the transfer, but this is something you will need to address with them yourself. We recommend that the advice you receive is on a fee, rather than commission, basis.

No. It is entirely your decision whether you decide to accept the ETV Offer. You may still decide to keep your pension in the Scheme even if the financial advisor recommends that you accept the ETV Offer.

Similarly, you may decide to accept the ETV offer even if the financial advisor recommends that you reject the offer. If this is the case, the Trustee and the Company will require you to sign an additional disclaimer stating that you are going against the appointed financial advisor recommendation.

Yes. If you have difficulty attending the meeting, we can arrange for the financial advice meeting to be conducted by phone or video conference.

You may transfer the amount to your new employer’s pension scheme (if permitted). Alternatively, we will facilitate members transferring to a Personal Retirement Bond, which is provided on preferential charging terms or, if permitted, to a Personal Retirement Savings Account (PRSA).

Further information relating to the Personal Retirement Bond option will be provided during your meeting with the advisor. This will cover important topics such as the investment choices available to you under the Personal Retirement Bond, the charging terms and the options for drawing your benefits.

This would depend on the rules of your new employer's pension scheme. Not all pension schemes will accept a transfer. If you are interested in this option, you should look through any documents (e.g. the scheme booklet and your latest annual benefit statement) that you have in respect of your new employer's pension scheme and discuss this with your appointed advisor during your meeting.

After bringing your ETV into your new scheme, the options available will depend on the rules of your new employer's scheme and how and when you intend on drawing your benefits.

It depends on where you wish to transfer to. Irish law restricts transfers only to pension plans that have similar features to Irish pension plans. If` you wish to transfer overseas, we will require details of the pension plan that you wish to transfer to and further documentation may need to be completed.

If you decide to accept the ETV Offer and transfer your benefits out of the Scheme, the value of your AVCs will be transferred to your chosen pension arrangement at the same time. No enhancement will be applied to the AVC element of the transfer value payment.

Please note that the AVC amount is not guaranteed, as it will depend on market movements, and the ultimate value will not be known until the date of encashment.

A full actuarial review of the Scheme was completed as at 31 December 2017 and the Company is currently paying the contributions recommended following that review. As at the valuation date, there was a deficit on the Trustee funding basis and the Company is currently paying contributions to eliminate this deficit by 31 December 2023. The Trustee also has powers to require additional funding if a further deficit emerges.

Further information on the position of the Scheme can be obtained from the most recent Trustee Annual Report, a summary of which is issued each year to you. Note that members can request a copy of the full report at any time.

If you are in receipt of means-tested benefits provided by the State, or have any other pension benefits either now or in the future, you may need to consider the impact that accepting the ETV Offer would have on your overall benefits, including any tax paid on those benefits.

You should raise this in your meeting with the advisor as they will consider all of your pension benefits and will provide you with advice that is specifically tailored to your individual circumstances.

The Standard Fund Threshold (or ‘lifetime limit’) is €2m. If the value of your total tax-approved pension benefits (those from this Scheme and any other retirement benefits that you have) exceed this limit, then you may incur an additional tax liability when you come to process your retirement benefits. If you are affected by this legislation (or think you might be), you should raise this with your advisor during your meeting.

Please refer to the privacy notice appended to your initial letter received about the ETV offer for further information.

The Trustee of the Scheme is Pension Trust Company Limited by Guarantee