Pensions and financial advice
CPAS
CIF Pension Administration Services
CPAS, a subsidiary of the CIF, was established to provide a professional pension administration service to the construction and related industries. With a dedicated, experienced and highly professional team, CPAS ensures best practice in key areas of pension scheme management.
CPAS administers the Construction Workers’ Pension Scheme (CWPS), Construction Executive Retirement Savings (CERS) and the Construction Industry Retirement Trust (CIRT) on behalf of each of their Trustee Boards. CPAS also provides services to the Construction Workers’ Sick Pay Trust.
CPAS has its own subsidiary company, Milestone Advisory DAC. Milestone Advisory was established to bring expert, impartial financial advice to members of the construction and related industries. They have a rigorous approach to personal and company financial planning, combined with a specific industry focus bringing unrivalled advice benefits to both employers and individuals.
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CERS
Construction Executive Retirement Savings
With over 4,000 active and deferred members, CERS is an award winning multi employer scheme providing pension and protection benefits to individual employers in the construction and related industries. Through its flexible structure, CERS can meet the particular needs of each employer and member by providing bespoke and varying pension solutions for each participating employer.
CERS is a master-trust arrangement with an independent Trustee Company. This removes the burden of time and cost for employers and provides peace of mind at no extra cost. It is a very easy process for an employer to set up a new CERS arrangement.
CERS offers a very competitive charging structure with no charges on transfers in or out of CERS. There is 100% allocation on all contributions received and there are no additional charges for standard expert legal and actuarial advice.
CERS also offers a wide range of investment choices including a Multi Asset Fund. A default lifestyling investment strategy is available, offering a de-risking strategy for members as they approach retirement. An ARF lifestyle strategy is also available to those members who wish to go the ARF route at retirement.
Members of CERS can also choose additional death in service benefits such as lump sum benefits, a spouse’s/dependant’s pension and a children’s pension, all at competitive premiums.
In addition to their excellent service proposition, CERS offers a safe and secure platform providing 24/7 member online access to their account information and values and a bespoke pension calculator to assist members in planning for their retirement.
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CWPS
Construction Workers’ Pension Scheme
With over 30,000 active members supported by over 2,500 participating employers, CWPS is one of the largest private sector pension schemes in Ireland. CWPS is a multi-employer industry wide scheme, providing pensions solutions for workers in the construction industry, at a low cost to members and employers. It allows employers to provide retirement packages as well as valuable death-in-service and sick pay benefits for their employees with the minimum amount of fuss and overheads.
CWPS is a master-trust arrangement with a Corporate Trustee Company. This removes the burden of time, cost and effort for employers who can hand over the duty of care of the pension fund to the Trustee Company.
Contributions to CWPS are invested in individual member accounts in a range of age-related investment funds. This lifestyling investment approach means that younger members have exposure to long-term growth potential while members closer to retirement have a higher exposure to assets which are less volatile.
In addition, members may make Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVC’s) to enhance their pension account in CWPS, and 100% of members AVC’s are invested on their behalf.
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CIRT
Construction Industry Retirement Trust Scheme (CIRT)
The Construction Industry Retirement Trust Scheme (CIRT) was set up on 1st March 1991. CIRT’s objective is to cater for the self-employed and for employees in non-pensionable employment within the construction and related industries. CIRT offers a low-cost pension solution with 100% allocation on all contributions received. CIRT also offers a wide range of investment choices including a Multi Asset Fund as the default fund. Members of CIRT can contact CIRT directly to discuss adding valuable insured benefits to their arrangement.
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Milestone Advisory
Milestone Advisory
CPAS established Milestone Advisory in 2014 to provide additional services to CPAS clients and to the broader CIF membership. Milestone is a financial advice business, offering financial planning services and advice across a wide range of financial products. The Milestone approach is based on assisting clients to achieve their financial objectives through a rigorous process that includes:
- Helping clients identify their desired financial outcomes
- Helping clients understand their current financial position
- Assisting clients in identifying their tolerance for risk
- Developing a financial plan that will outline how clients can achieve their objectives
- Helping clients to implement that plan through putting the required solutions in place
The approach is based on achieving desired outcomes rather than a “product push” approach. The goal for Milestone is to build long-term, valued relationships with clients, helping them to achieve their financial objectives. Typically the types of objectives that Milestone assists clients in achieving are largely based on their stage of life. These can be best outlined as follows:
- Pre-retirement planning
- At retirement planning
- Post retirement planning
Milestone Advisory DAC t/a Milestone Advisory is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.
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Related resources
Arachas Insurance
Arachas Insurance understands the special needs of the construction market and can assist you in providing comprehensive cover for your company.
CIF Benevolent Trust
The CIF Benevolent Trust is a charitable trust and is dedicated to the relief of distress on owners, directors, senior management, supervisory staff and dependents in the construction industry.
Industrial Relations & Employment Services
The Industrial Relations and Employment Services Department provides information, advice and support to contractors on managing their workforce to ensure compliance with employment protective legislation.