NEWSLETTERS: 

National Federation Pension and Life Assurance Newsletter March 2023

National Federation Pension and Life Assurance Newsletter Oct 2022

Investment Markets and Fund Update Oct 2022 (referenced in Oct Newsletter)

National Federation's Pension and Life Assurance Newsletter April 2022

National Federation’s Pension and Life Assurance Newsletter November 2021 

National Federation’s Pension & Life Assurance Newsletter March 2021 

National Federation’s Pension & Life Assurance Scheme Newsletter June 2020

TOP UP YOUR PENSION FUND BY MAKING A LUMP SUM ADDITIONAL VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTION (AVC) AND CLAIM BACK TAX FOR 2021 BEFORE REVENUE DEADLINE OF 28TH OCTOBER, 2022

Irish Life are helping Pension Scheme Members to make lump sum AVC payments into their pension fund and claim back tax for 2021 before the Revenue deadline of 28th October, 2022.

Irish Life have compiled a comprehensive suite of resources to give members the know-how and support to make the process as easy as possible: 

• Dedicated "How does it work?" webpage, including Top Up Form with Step-by-Step instructions
• Top Up your Pension Savings and Claim Tax Back Video 

Members should contact their Irish Life Advice Team point of contact if they wish to discuss if this is the right decision for them.   

IRISH LIFE MEMBER PORTAL:

Irish Life's ‘Member Portal’, which is an online account for your pension fund, is now live so you can view your own pension fund and use the many great online tools Irish Life have made available to you, to help you plan for your retirement.

The Member Portal allows you to:

• Review your personal contact information, including adding your mobile number and updating your personal email address onto your record.
• Check your current pension fund value which includes the transfer amount from New Ireland, if you previously contributed to the Scheme.
• Review your investment choice.
• Check out the projections tool which is a great help for targeting the income level you want to have at retirement.
• View your Document Library which will in time contain all letters and correspondence sent to you

To access your pension information online and at any time that suits you, you need to register for the online Member Portal. If you have already given Irish Life your email address or mobile phone number, you can register now and get access to your online pension account.

If you didn’t give your email address or mobile phone number to Irish Life, which is required to get access to the Member Portal, please contact Irish Life by emailing fedvol@irishlife.ie and they will be happy to help you get set up.

If you follow the steps in the Member Portal Video, you should be able to register for the Member Portal with no problems.

Once you have registered for the Member Portal, as outlined above, you can then download the “Irish Life EMPOWER” app on your mobile phone.  iPhone users can go to the Apple Store to download the app.  Android users can download the app from the Google Play Store.

PENSIONS AUTHORITY GUIDANCE IN RELATION TO PENSION BENEFIT STATEMENT (PBS) PROJECTION ASSUMPTIONS:

The Pension Authority published updated Guidance in relation to Pension Benefit Statement (PBS) projection assumptions, which are effective 1st May 2023 and reflect current expectations of future market conditions.  These projections will be reflected in members Pension Benefit Statements as at 31st December, 2023.

The revised assumptions will mean that the estimated projected fund at age 65 will be higher than on previous statements. 

For further information on the Pensions Authority Guidance in relation to Pension Benefit Statement Projection Assumptions, please refer to the European Union (Occupational Pension Schemes) Regulations 2021, Regulation 34(4) – Guidance in relation to pension benefit statement projection assumptions 

ANNUAL MANAGEMENT CHARGE (AMC) AND TOTAL EXPENSE RATIO (TER):

As part of an ongoing review, the Trustees initiated a market review in 2020 which secured a significant reduction in the Annual Management Charge for each of the funds, apart from the Cash Fund, with effect from the 1st January 2021.  The Annual Management Charge for the default fund, where the majority of the members are invested (97%), was reduced from 0.525% to 0.33%.

The market review was concluded in 2021 with Irish Life being appointed Registered Administrator from 1st January, 2022 and a further reduction was secured in the annual management charge to 0.29% for the majority of the funds, including the new default fund, the Empower Personal Lifestyle Strategy.

Each investment fund option comes with costs. The Annual Management Charge (AMC) is charged by Irish Life for managing a particular fund option and reflects the cost of operating the fund as well as the administration of the Pension Scheme. The amount you pay is calculated as a percentage of the value of your pension fund, which Irish Life calculate daily.

Total Expense Ratio (TER) - this is made up of the Annual Management Charge and other costs incurred by the investment managers in managing the investment funds, such as custodianship of the pension fund assets (which in the case of Irish Life funds, is performed by Citibank).

All fund returns shown on your Member Portal are net of the AMC and TER.

The Annual Management Charge (AMC) and the Total Expense Ratio (TER) for each investment fund are available here