Irish Life Pension Funds

Ireland's largest pension provider with institutional-scale index management

Irish Life is Ireland's largest life and pensions provider, part of Great-West Lifeco Inc. Their in-house investment manager ILIM delivers institutional-scale indexed capabilities, complemented by active options from Setanta and external managers. The unique Personal Lifestyle Strategy personalises de-risking to each member's circumstances.

Full review

Funds tracked

Risk Rating Scale

Irish Life rates funds on a volatility scale of 1 to 7 (also referred to as the “risk level”). A fund with a risk level of 1 is very low risk; a risk level of 7 is very high risk.

Volatility is a measure of how a fund’s return differs from its average return over a period of time. The bigger the difference from the average return, the riskier the fund. The volatility scale assumes that all investments are held on a long-term basis and is calculated over 10 years. Shorter holding periods will usually carry a greater level of risk.

Risk and potential return are closely linked - investments that are higher risk tend to have higher returns over the long term. Risk can usually be reduced by diversifying across different sectors and geographic regions, and by holding investments for a longer period.

Irish Life provides a Traffic Light System to help investors understand when to consider reducing exposure to higher-risk funds as retirement approaches:

The applicable zone depends on the fund’s risk rating and the number of years to retirement. For example, a risk level 7 fund enters the amber zone at approximately 20 years to retirement, while a risk level 4 fund enters amber at approximately 10 years.

Green (OK for 100% investment): Far enough from retirement that higher-risk funds are appropriate to maximise returns.
Amber (Consider reducing exposure): Should begin considering a move to lower-risk funds to protect accumulated value.
Red (Urgent need to reduce exposure): Close to retirement; should not remain fully invested in high-risk funds.

About Irish Life

Key Considerations

Personalised default strategy (PLS): The lifecycle strategy uses your salary, service length, and fund value to personalise the de-risking phase - not one-size-fits-all
Consensus Fund: Replicates the average Irish managed fund allocation, eliminating the need to pick a specific manager
Traffic Light system: Visual guidance showing when to reduce investment risk based on years to retirement
"New World" Article 8 range: ESG-integrated funds with a decarbonisation tilt - Article 8 means the fund promotes environmental or social characteristics under EU regulation
In-house management (ILIM): Institutional-scale indexed and active fund management
Broad fund range: Covers indexed, active, blended, and specialist options across all risk levels

Investment Approach

Irish Life's investment philosophy centres on indexed (passive) management through ILIM, complemented by active options:

Indexed approach: ILIM replicates market indices to deliver average market returns consistently, eliminating manager and stock selection risk. The Consensus Fund extends this by replicating the average asset allocation of the entire Irish pension industry.

Active options: Setanta (value-oriented active equity), Davy High Yield Fund, and external managers (Amundi, Fidelity) provide active alternatives for investors seeking outperformance.

Blend: The Diversified Growth Fund combines indexed traditional assets with actively managed alternatives (forestry, hedge funds, commodities, emerging markets).

Fund Range

The Risk (SRI) column uses the EU's Summary Risk Indicator - a 1 to 7 scale where 1 is very low risk and 7 is very high risk.

Standard Funds

Fund	Style	Risk (SRI)	Asset Mix	Purpose
Tax Free Cash Fund	Cash	1	100% cash/deposits	Tax-free lump sum portion
Pension Stability Fund	Indexed	2	Bonds, cash, small equity	Capital preservation near retirement
Pension for Life Fund	Indexed	3	100% long-dated eurozone govt bonds	Annuity-matching
Flexible Fund	Indexed	3	Bonds, cash, equities, alternatives	ARF/post-retirement portion
Consensus Fund	Indexed	5	Equities, bonds, cash, property	Average managed fund returns
Indexed Global Equity Fund	Indexed	6	100% global equities	Long-term equity growth
Indexed 50/50 Equity Fund	Indexed	6	100% equities (50% EZ / 50% world)	Equity growth with EZ tilt

Other Popular Funds

Fund	Style	Risk (SRI)	Notes
Active Managed Fund	Active	5	Fair-value approach, stock picking
Equity Managed Fund	Active	6	Active country and stock selection
Indexed World Equity Fund	Indexed	6	FTSE World Index tracking
Global Consensus Fund	Active	5	Industry average allocation, global focus
Diversified Growth Fund	Blend	5	Traditional + alternatives (forestry, hedging, commodities)
Davy High Yield Fund	Active	-	External active manager

ESG / Responsible Investment

ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) is a framework for evaluating companies on climate impact, working conditions, and corporate ethics. Irish Life has a detailed ESG framework:

Framework: Built on two sustainability mega-trends:

Decarbonisation
Stakeholder-centric business models

Four priority themes: Climate-related risk, natural capital, human rights, corporate governance

"New World" range (Article 8):

Decarbonisation tilt: reduces exposure to poor carbon scorers, increases exposure to leaders
Combines backward-looking data (carbon intensity, Scope 1+2) with forward-looking view (carbon risk rating)
Lower carbon intensity vs. parent benchmarks

Exclusions (Article 8 funds):

Controversial weapons: anti-personnel mines, nuclear weapons, cluster weapons, biological/chemical weapons, depleted uranium, white phosphorus

Active Ownership:

ILIM Engagement Programme covering: transition climate risk, physical climate risk, biodiversity, water, waste, human rights, supply chain labour, board diversity, anti-corruption
Global Proxy Voting Guidelines aligned to decarbonisation mega-trend
Collaborative memberships: IIGCC, UNPRI, Climate Action 100+

Real Estate:

LEED platinum standard for new developments
WELL Building Standard
Net zero carbon targets for new builds
GRESB participation

Charges

AMC rates are agreed at scheme level for corporate pensions and individually for retail products.

Page content last reviewed 13 July 2026. Fund performance data is updated daily.

Frequently asked questions about Irish Life pensions

Irish Life offers one of the broadest fund ranges in Ireland, including the Consensus Fund (which replicates the average Irish managed fund), Indexed Global Equity, Active Managed, Diversified Growth, and the "New World" Article 8 range with a decarbonisation tilt. Funds span risk levels SRI 1 to 6.

The PLS is Irish Life's default lifecycle strategy with two phases. Phase 1 ("Growing Safely") starts at 100% growth and switches approximately 3% per year into stability from 20 years before retirement. Phase 2 ("Benefit Target Funds") covers the final 6 years and personalises the allocation to Tax-Free Cash, Annuity, or Flexible targets based on individual salary, service length, and fund value.

The Consensus Fund is designed to replicate the average return of Irish managed pension funds. It eliminates the risk of choosing the wrong fund manager by tracking the collective asset allocation of the broader Irish pension industry.

Irish Life focuses on two mega-trends: decarbonisation and stakeholder-centric models. Their "New World" Article 8 funds apply a decarbonisation tilt. Exclusions are limited to controversial weapons. Irish Life Investment Managers (ILIM) is a member of IIGCC, UN PRI, and Climate Action 100+.

EMPOWER is Irish Life's master trust platform - one of the most widely used occupational pension vehicles in Ireland. It provides employers with a governed pension scheme structure and members with access to Irish Life's full fund range and lifecycle strategies.

Irish Life provides the MyIrishLife customer portal, Pension Planet Interactive for corporate administration, and Pension Prophet for projection modelling. They also offer an online Risk Profile Questionnaire to help members select an appropriate fund.

Irish Life uses a Traffic Light system to communicate fund risk levels. Funds are categorised by their Synthetic Risk Indicator (SRI 1–6) and mapped to a simple visual indicator to help members understand the expected level of volatility.