Ill-health early retirement

Retirement on medical grounds before normal retirement date. The benefit payable in these circumstances may be greater than that paid to a member retiring early in normal health.

Immediate annuity

An annuity which commences immediately or shortly after its purchase.

Incapacity

Inability to continue working due to ill-health or disability. Its precise meaning in practice is determined by the rules of each separate scheme.

Income continuance plan

One of the terms used to describe a prolonged disability insurance scheme.

Indexation

A system whereby pensions in payment and/or preserved benefits are increased automatically at regular intervals by reference to a specified index of prices or earnings.

Indirect discrimination

A form of sex discrimination, usually unintentional, which is deemed to exist if conditions are applied to a group of workers which, though not expressly related to sex, are more likely to be met by one sex than the other.

Individual arrangement

A pension scheme with only one member whose documents relate only to that member.

Insured scheme

A pension scheme where the sole long-term investment medium used by the trustees is an insurance policy. All of the benefits are provided by an insurance company with whom the trustees have taken out a contract to pay regular premiums.

Integration

The system of designing scheme benefits to take into account all or part of the benefits payable by the State under the social welfare arrangements. Known in public sector schemes as "co-ordination".

Interim trust deed

A form of trust deed commonly used to establish a pension scheme on broadly stated terms leaving the detailed provisions and rules to be provided later by a definitive trust deed.

Internal dispute resolution (IDR)

An arrangement for resolving a complaint or dispute which is subjected to a resolution process within the pension scheme or PRSA in which it arises, before it can be submitted to the Pensions Ombudsman.

Investment

The process by which contributions and net income of a scheme are used to increase the value of pension fund assets by means of cash deposits, the purchase and sale of equities, bonds, property and other assets as authorised by the trust deed and by law.

Investment manager

A person or body to which the investment of the whole or part of the assets is delegated by the trustees in accordance with the provisions of the trust document.

Investment performance measurement

The comparison of the rate of return of a given pension fund with the notional return of a hypothetical fund, or the actual rates of return of other funds, over the same period.

Investment regulations

Regulations issued under the Pensions Act setting out certain investment rules that trustees must comply with when investing the assets of a pension scheme. The relevant statutory instrument references are SI No 294 of 2006, SI No 188 of 2007 and SI No 455 of 2010.

Irrevocable trust

A trust which cannot be revoked or taken back by the employer who establishes it. Such trusts are normally required by Revenue in order to give tax-free build up to the assets of the pension scheme. The trust has the effect of separating scheme assets from the assets of the employer.