Frequently Asked Questions

The OPT-IN Offer is an initiative by the Company and all correspondence to you regarding the offer is from the Company. The Company has discussed the option with the Trustee. The Trustee has reviewed the option and is satisfied that it is appropriate to offer the option to members. Neither the Company nor the Trustee are making any recommendation to members to take up or not take up the offer. It is a matter for you to decide whether to take the offer on the basis of your own financial advice.

The uplift applies to your current pension in payment (excluding any Post 2020 Pension or Temporary Pension, if applicable). 

Your current pension is your pension after any retirement lump sum taken, allowing for increases already received since your retirement.

The uplift percentage quoted in your offer letter is fixed and will not change, unless you advise that the personal details used in determining the uplift (e.g. your date of birth), are incorrect.

The amount of pension allowing for the percentage uplift is provisional because it is subject to confirmation by the Scheme Administrator, Mercer, that the percentage uplift has been correctly applied to your current pension.

Every effort has been made to ensure that the pension amounts before and after the uplift are correct and we expect that in the vast majority of cases the provisional uplifted pension figure shown in the letter will apply.

The main factor that determines the size of the uplift percentage is a person’s current age.

Other factors include gender, current marital status, and the age of a pensioner’s spouse/civil partner.

The status of the pensioner also has a bearing on the uplift, i.e. the pensioner can be either an original member of the Scheme or a spouse of a deceased former member.

Date of retirement has a small impact if a pensioner is still within 5 years of retirement.

Finally, in individual cases, if there is a Pensions Adjustment Order in place this can impact the uplift.

The uplift has been calculated using each person’s exact age, allowing for partial years. So a difference of even 6 months in age will lead to a slightly higher uplift percentage for the younger pensioner.

While the main factor that determines the size of the uplift is a person’s age, this is not the only factor.

Gender is also a factor. If there are two pensioners of the same age, one male and one female, the female can expect to receive a higher uplift because she is expected to live longer in retirement.

If two people are the same age but one was an original member of the Scheme while the other is a widow or widower of a deceased member of the Scheme, the original member can expect to receive a higher uplift. This is because for the original member of the scheme, there is the potential for a benefit to be payable to a spouse after they pass away, extending the potential length of time over which benefits may be paid and increasing the value of future potential discretionary increases.

If two pensioners are both original members of the scheme, but one is married while the other is single, the married member can expect to receive a higher uplift. This is because there is a greater likelihood that a spouse’s pension will be paid when the member dies, extending the potential length of time over which benefits may be paid and increasing the value of future potential discretionary increases.

The age of a member’s spouse also impacts the uplift percentage. For example, if two pensioners have identical personal details in all respects, except one is married to someone of the same age, while the other is married to someone who is three years younger than them, the pensioner with the younger spouse can expect to receive a higher uplift.

So, while two pensioners may have similar ages, differences in the above factors can lead to different levels of uplift.

* ‘Spouse’ includes civil partner.

No. Two pensioners with identical personal details (age, gender, marital status, spouse’s date of birth etc.) will have the same uplift percentage even if, for example, one pensioner is on a pension of €7,000 p.a. while another is on a pension of €70,000 p.a.

If you accept the offer, your pension will receive a once-off increase effective from your June 2026 pension payment and will remain fixed at that level, thereafter.

How long you expect to live is a very important factor in deciding whether to accept the OPT-IN Offer. If you live for a long time, then giving up any potential future pension increases could result in inflation gradually reducing what you can afford to buy with your pension.

This is a once-off offer and the Company has no plans to make it available again to current pensioners.

If you do nothing then your pension will continue to be paid on the same terms but please note that this offer may not be made available to you again.

Yes, you are welcome to bring a family member or another trusted individual to your meeting. We understand that pension decisions are important, and having someone with you for additional support can be helpful. If you require another type of additional support please make sure to include details in your fact find.

This offer is available for a limited time only.

In order to accept the OPT-IN Offer, you must:

• First, have taken financial advice and, in order to do so, you must have submitted an Expression of Interest Form either by post to LifeSight Financial Advice or by email to advice.optin@wtwco.com. This must be done no later than 5pm, 18th March 2026.
• Subsequently, have returned a valid and fully-completed Acceptance Form by no later than 5pm, 23rd April 2026.

If you decide to take up the offer, you have a two week cooling-off period from the date your acceptance form is received. After the two weeks have expired, your decision cannot be reversed.

This exercise and the information provided to you have been prepared based on current legislation. It is not possible to give any guarantee that future changes in legislation or in the Irish pension environment would not affect the outcome of any decisions you make regarding your pension.

Yes, all pension payments are subject to taxation – as they are currently. This will be deducted from your gross payment through the pension payroll i.e. in the same way that current tax deductions are made.

Further information on the taxation of pensions can be found here (Citizens Information website).

This exercise will have no impact on your Contributory State Pension under the current rules. Further information on the State pension can be found at www.welfare.ie.

Some State benefits, such as the Medical Card, are means-tested and should you take the option to exchange your pension increases for a higher level pension then your entitlement to these means-tested benefits may be affected. 

Where you are in receipt of such benefits then you should outline the benefits you currently receive in your factfind document. Note that the entitlement to a medical card is assessed on a case by case basis by the HSE. Where you are entitled to a medical card we would recommend that you seek clarification from the HSE via their helpline on 0818 22 44 78 or clientregistration@hse.ie before you make your decision to ensure that your entitlement to a medical card remains unchanged. 

Other means-tested benefits include the Household benefits package which is means-tested where the individual is under age 70. 

Please note that our recommendations are aligned with present practices and cannot account for potential future changes.

Under the Nursing Homes Support Scheme (“Fair Deal”) a percentage of your income and assets can be contributed towards nursing home care which may otherwise be prohibitively expensive. The contribution from an individual towards the cost of care will depend on their level of income and the value of their assets.

If you require care at some point in the future, and elect to take the OPT-IN Offer then your contribution to the cost of care under this scheme would be based on your increased pension. This contribution may be higher or lower than that had you not accepted the option, depending on the age at which you enter care.

Further information on this scheme be found here (HSE website).

A dependant’s pension could be payable to a legal spouse, civil partner or child. If you choose to take this offer, the pension payable to your spouse or dependant will be calculated based on your higher flat-rate pension at death. The spouse’s/dependant’s pension will not receive pension increases. Different rules may apply if there is a pension adjustment order (PAO) in place in relation to your benefits and you should let us know if this is the case. If you accept the offer and you pass away during the cooling off period the OPT-IN option will not take affect.

If you are in the process of getting divorced, in order for you to accept the Opt-in Offer, the Acceptance Form must be signed by you and your current spouse / civil partner. If a pension adjustment order (PAO) is already in place when you accept the Opt-in Offer this can be discussed at your Personal Financial Advice meeting.