Aer Lingus to meet pension trustees

Aer Lingus is looking to meet with the trustee of the pension fund following the rejection of a plan to plug a €750m hole in the company’s pension scheme by the pensions regulator.

The trustees of the Irish Airlines Superannuation Scheme (IASS) received a letter from the Pensions Board chief executive, Brendan Kennedy, rejecting the Aer Lingus plan as it would fail to meet the minimum funding standards set by the board.

A spokesperson for the airline said that they are looking for an immediate meeting with the trustee.

“Aer Lingus has been made aware of the letter from the Pensions Board to the IASS trustee.

“We have sought an immediate meeting with the IASS trustee,” the spokesperson said.

The pension scheme includes workers in Aer Lingus, the Dublin Airport Authority, and SR Technics.

Trade union Siptu said that it was disappointed at the Pensions Board’s decision to reject the proposals, which were agreed by unions and management.

“We are very disappointed with the Pension Board’s decision in relation to these proposals.

“Siptu representatives will be going back to our members to discuss what further action we will take to ensure that the pension rights of Aer Lingus workers are respected,” said Siptu sector organiser Dermot O’Loughlin.

The large deficit in the pensions fund has been seen as an obstacle to the sale of the Government’s 25% stake in Aer Lingus as the issue remains unresolved.

If the scheme were to be wound up today workers would only receive 4% of their entitlements.

Aer Lingus had agreed to inject €110m for active members and €30m for deferred members, while the DAA had agreed to pay €€52.75m for active members and an undisclosed amount to deferred members.