Events
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The Pensions Authority Conference 2026
The Pensions Authority Conference 2026 took place on Tuesday 15 September 2026 in the Round Room at the Mansion House in Dublin 2.
The focus for this conference was on the Authority’s ongoing implementation of forward-looking risk-based supervision and the importance of data to support such endeavours; authorisation regime for Irish pension schemes; increasing EU obligations; cyber security as a critical risk and use of Artificial Intelligence in pensions.
The target audience for this conference was pension scheme trustees, registered administrators, pension advisors and the wider pensions industry.
A full house at the Pensions Authority Conference 2026, focused on forward-looking risk-based supervision.
Many thanks to Minister Dara Calleary, Petra Hielkema, Brendan Kennedy, Andrew Nugent, Eithne Rafferty, Paul Stanley, Joyce Brennan, Brian Balmforth and John Gethin for sharing their insights.
The key takeaways were:
- Forward-looking risk-based supervision relies on quality data, strong governance and early risk identification.
- Consolidation, authorisation and auto-enrolment are reshaping the Irish pensions landscape.
- Cyber security and artificial intelligence are growing considerations for trustees and pension scheme governance.
- Ireland’s EU Presidency presents an opportunity to help shape the future European pensions agenda.
The conference agenda, speaker biographies and presentation slides are provided below. To view videos of the Conference, please click on the Video topics below; alternatively, they can be viewed here.
| Speaker | Title | Video topic |
|---|---|---|
| David Malone | Head of Operations, The Pensions Authority | Conference opening |
| Brendan Kennedy | Pensions Regulator, The Pensions Authority | Welcome and introduction |
| Dara Calleary TD | Minister for Social Protection and Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht | Keynote address |
| Petra Hielkema | Chair, European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) | EIOPA policy and supervisory convergence |
| Andrew Nugent | Director of Supervision, Policy and Legal, The Pensions Authority | Anticipating the authorisation regime for Irish pension schemes |
| Eithne Rafferty | Head of Strategy and International Affairs, The Pensions Authority | Data at the centre of supervision |
| Paul Stanley | Head of Engagement, The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) – Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration | Ensuring cyber security is embedded as a critical risk |
| Joyce Brennan Brian Balmforth Paul Stanley John Gethin | Chief Executive, The Irish Association of Pension Funds (IAPF) Insurance Directorate, The Central Bank of Ireland Head of Engagement, The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) Director of Strategy, IT, Data and Operations, The Pensions Authority | Use of Artificial Intelligence in pensions – what trustees need to know and ask. (round table discussion) |
| John Gethin | Director of Strategy, IT, Data and Operations, The Pensions Authority | Closing comments |
The Pensions Authority Conference 2025
The Pensions Authority hosted the Supervision of pensions 2025 – 2029 conference on Wednesday 17 September 2025 in the Round Room at the Mansion House, Dublin 2.
The focus for this conference was on the changing landscape of Irish pensions and consolidation, the Authority’s ongoing implementation of forward-looking risk-based supervision and the increasing EU obligations and the importance of data to support such endeavours.
The target audience for this conference was pension scheme trustees, registered administrators, pension advisors and the wider pensions industry.
The video recording can be viewed here. The conference agenda, speaker biographies, and presentation slides are provided below.
Risk Management Conference 2023
On Wednesday 11 October, the Pensions Authority held its Risk Conference at The Marker Hotel in Dublin.
The theme of the conference was risk management for pension schemes and the related increased obligations on trustees from the transposition of the IORP II directive into Irish law. The speakers and the titles of their presentations were:
- Tim O’Hanrahan, Head of Insurance Supervision of the Central Bank of Ireland, ‘Risk management – insights from financial services firms’,
- Alan Pickering, President of BESTrustees, London, ‘Risk management – a friendly view from across the water’,
- Will Price, CEO of D3P Global Pension Consulting, ‘International lessons on risk management for pension schemes’, and
- Grace Guy, Head of Supervision and Enforcement with the Pensions Authority, ‘Irish pension scheme risk management’.
The Authority launched its guidance on the own-risk assessment (ORA) for pension schemes at the conference and this can be found here.
The video recording can be viewed here and the speaker bios along with the slides for the presentation are available in the Related File(s) area and the end of the page.
Continuous Professional Development
The Risk Conference was accredited for CPD hours by the IIPM, LIA and IOB in the category of (MCC2) Pensions, and by the IIPM and LIA in the category of (MCC3) Savings and Investments.
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