Bank of Ireland retirees stage Cork protest amid calls to review crisis-era pension cutbacks

Pensioners are pushing senior management at Bank of Ireland to revisit pension agreements made in the aftermath of the financial crisis

Bank of Ireland retirees protesting outside the bank's South Mall branch in Cork City amid calls to revisit crisis-era pension cutbacks

Former Bank of Ireland employees from across the country gathered in Cork City on Thursday to protest what they called an “unconscionable unwillingness” by senior management to revisit pension reductions implemented during the financial crisis.

Pensioners from across four provinces congregated on Cork’s South Mall outside the lender’s main city branch, marking the second major protest by former employees in recent weeks following their demonstration outside the bank's Dublin headquarters in October.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner, Paul Harty, a former Bank of Ireland employee who worked for the company for 38 years, said the purpose of the demonstration was to push senior management to address the issue of pensions, which “continue to be ignored.” 

In the aftermath of the financial crisis, substantial pension reductions were introduced by the company, first in 2010, and again in 2013, to reduce the bank’s deficit.

The changes saw benefits for pension scheme members reduced, mainly resulting from a change in how future pay increases would qualify for the pension. Only until 2006 were benefits linked to a worker’s final salary.

For more than a decade, pension increases have been essentially capped at 3%, due to a 1% clawback on increases of 4%, with newly retired Bank of Ireland staff receiving no increase for the first three years.

Bank of Ireland retirees protesting outside the bank's South Mall branch in Cork City amid calls to revisit crisis-era pension cutbacks

When the changes were introduced, Bank of Ireland pledged to review the cutbacks once circumstances improved.

“The promises and commitments made at those meetings back in 2010 and 2013 have not been honoured,” said Mr Harty.

“The bank has returned to very strong profits, and they are quite happily paying themselves huge amounts of money."

“Meanwhile, pensions have received virtually no increases in seven years.” 

Record profits 

Following updates to its share awards scheme, the chief executive of Bank of Ireland, Myles O’Grady, is in line to receive a total package of around €2m in 2026.

In 2024, the lender recorded profits of almost €2bn, underpinned by a surge in net interest income, which rose to €3.6bn as a result of interest rate hikes by the European Central Bank (ECB).

In the first six months of 2025, Bank of Ireland recorded a pre-tax profit of €721m and raised its full-year guidance for net interest income to €3.5bn.

The bank’s defined benefit pensions recorded a €917m surplus in the first six months of 2025, according to the lender’s interim results for this year.

“There is a lot of anger at this,” said Mr Harty, who also spent five years on the executive of the Financial Services Union (FSU), adding that Bank of Ireland was “refusing to engage with pensioners.” 

“These changes to our pensions were agreed upon based on a commitment given by the bank in 2010 and 2013 to review the situation when circumstances improved.

“We want these restrictions unwound. We do not feel like we are receiving our fair share. Back in 2013, the CEO of Bank of Ireland was on about €840,000. Fast forward to today, Myles O’Grady is on course to earn €2m. The CEO is up more than 100% what we are. 

"Yet, when we ask for the review that we were promised by Bank of Ireland, they tell us that it’s not the time.” 

Also attending Thursday’s protest was former Bank of Ireland employee Therese Coughlan, who worked at the company for 35 years.

Bank 'has gotten greedy again'

“I was full-time. Then, I couldn’t get time off work for personal reasons, so I had to resign. I rejoined again in the 90s and was in a job share. My pension and my salary are pro-rata.

“My pension is €520 a month,” Ms Coughlan added.

“Simply put, the banks have gotten greedy again. What Myles O’Grady needs to hear now is, enough is enough. We are not going away, and Bank of Ireland needs to get used to it.” 

Ms Coughlan said almost 800 retirees have joined in on efforts to reopen talks between pensioners and Bank of Ireland.

Bank of Ireland retirees protesting outside the bank's South Mall branch in Cork City amid calls to revisit crisis-era pension cutbacks

Speaking to the Irish Examiner, Ciarán Mahon, chair of the retired members committee of the FSU, who worked for the bank for 43 years, said: “The most disappointing part of this is the bank’s dishonesty. They can spend €40m on the refurbishment of its College Green bank and launch extensive share buybacks, but they can’t review our pension plan.” 

In a statement to the Irish Examiner, a spokesperson for Bank of Ireland said: “Since 2010, over €1bn in additional funding has been paid to the Bank Staff Pension Fund (BSPF) by the bank. These changes improved the financial position of the BSPF, reducing volatility and substantially de-risking the fund.

“The BSPF is a competitive scheme, one of a small number of direct pension schemes which has managed to remain open and continues to provide valuable benefits. While many other defined benefit pension schemes don’t pay any increase in benefits, the BSPF provided a 3% discretionary increase in April 2024, 3% in April 2023, and 2.7% in April 2022.

The lender added that its Pensions Steering Committee conducted a review of the scheme benefits in 2023, and assessed the position again in 2024.

“It concluded that to change the benefit structure now risks the stability of the fund for both current and future generations of pensioners. The Board also commissioned an independent report on the matter in 2025 and reached the same conclusion in terms of stability and equity for all members of the scheme,” Bank of Ireland added.

“The Bank has engaged fully with a range of pensioners on these issues in a number of different ways, including meetings with senior management, and will continue to do so.”