William Fry has advised Irish Life in relation to Danske Bank's transfer of €335m of its Irish defined benefit pension liabilities to Irish Life. It is understood to be the largest deal of its kind in the local market. The deal is part of trend towards use of insurance techniques, such as annuity buy-ins and buy-outs, to ease the burden on pension schemes caused by unpredictable returns and longer lifespans.

Speaking on the deal Eoin Caulfield a Partner in William Fry's Insurance Department commented that that it was "an innovative Irish transaction, as one of the first pension scheme de-risking transactions here and following an established trend in the UK. Irish schemes are typically of a smaller size than the UK, but this transaction shows the economics still work and it will be an emerging theme here."