Mercer Aspire – for a smarter defined contribution pension scheme

There’s a lot going on when it comes to defined contribution (DC) pensions in Ireland today. With more and more people depending on DC savings in retirement, having access to the right solution has never been more important.

We’re passionate about helping individuals save for retirement, and we know that DC pension scheme members in Ireland want a solution that makes it easier to save, delivers appropriate support and provides security and peace of mind.

Employers and trustees, concerned with managing the rising costs and risks associated with new governance requirements, are also keenly aware of what’s at stake for them and their individual members.

As a leader in DC pension savings, we can assure that our clients and their members are in good hands. Globally, Mercer has more than 2,500 clients with more $17 trillion in assets under advice^[1], and in Ireland specifically, our innovative DC solution, Mercer Aspire, now has more than 80,000 members covering more than 200 plans — representing assets with a value of c. €6 billion^[2].

Mercer Aspire is an integrated DC investment, communications, governance, and administration solution that is built around your members’ needs. It evolves to reflect new ideas, opportunities and changing market conditions.

We’re proud of the positive impact that Mercer Aspire is having on member retirement outcomes in so many ways.

Primarily, Mercer Aspire has delivered consistently robust performance since inception in 2012. We are also proud to say that sustainability is a central consideration of our default growth portfolio, so members can be assured that their money is invested with the future in mind. In addition, we continue to successfully partner with trustees to provide pension scheme members with timely and relevant communication to help them navigate their retirement savings journey. This has been particularly important in recent years given the turbulence caused by the global pandemic and rising geo-political tensions. 

The objective of Mercer Aspire is to support sponsoring employers and trustees in delivering better DC outcomes for their members. We do this in three key ways via our investments, communications and governance capabilities.

The job of being a DC pension scheme trustee is becoming more complex and time-consuming. New EU legislation, in the form of IORP II, presents challenges for trustees and plan sponsors alike. This is in addition to ECB reporting regulations and the Irish Pension Authority’s previously published investment guidelines, codes of governance and regulatory checklist. 

Most employers continue to choose the benefits of the trust-based approach to DC provision, but many would prefer not to have to manage the burden of trusteeship themselves.

¹ As at March 2022

² As at August 2022

Please see important notices for regulatory information.