Daniel Watters
+353 1 920 1323
[email protected]
Ten Earlsfort Terrace
Dublin 2
D02 T380
Ireland
Daniel is a partner in our Pensions and Employee Benefits Group.
Daniel specialises in pensions law, advising employers and pension scheme trustees on the establishment and day-to-day running of occupational pension schemes (both funded and unfunded / pay as you go schemes), scheme restructurings, liability management exercises and scheme wind-ups. Daniel also advises on all pensions aspects of corporate transactions, including share sales and asset and business transfers.
Daniel has broad experience in pensions litigation and has advised extensively on contentious matters between employers and trustees in the context of internal dispute resolution procedures and appeals to the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman. He has experience in the area of investment funds and regulation and also advises on all aspects of regulatory change for the pensions industry including pension scheme compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation, the European IORP II Directive, the Digital Operational Resilience Act and the new government Auto Enrolment regime. Daniel sits on the Council of the Association of Pension Lawyers in Ireland.
Video Transcription
I’m Daniel Watters, and I’m a partner in the Pensions and Employee Benefits Group here at Arthur Cox. I advise trustees and employers on all aspects of pensions law, from scheme restructurings and windups to data protection and day-to-day governance. It’s a highly technical area of law where clarity, commercial focus, and practical strategy are crucial. As well, the pensions regulatory landscape in Ireland has shifted rapidly in recent years. We’ve had major developments at a European level, like GDPR, the IORP II Directive, and then more recently, the Digital Operational Resilience Act. In addition, at a national level, we are seeing the government move to introduce the most significant change to the Irish pensions landscape in recent years with the upcoming auto-enrolment regime. This will introduce in Ireland for the first time a mandatory retirement saving system, and in many ways, is reshaping employers’ approach to pension provision for their employees. These changes have created a surge in demand for expert advice, and we’ve been at the forefront in helping clients adapt and stay ahead. Whether we’re supporting trustees through regulatory change or helping employers make strategic decisions about benefit design, our focus is always on delivering confident, actionable advice with a clear commercial lens.
As the Irish Pensions Landscape continues to evolve, we in the Arthur Cox Pensions Group strive to act as true partners to our clients, helping them navigate complexity with clarity.
Relevant Experience
- Advising a semi-state organisation on pension scheme restructuring including the establishment of benefit (DB) and defined contribution (DC) pension schemes
- Advising on reorganisations and mergers of legacy DB and DC pension schemes
- Advising employers on liability management exercises, including annuity buy-ins, closures to future accrual and enhanced transfer value exercises
- Advising on use, documentation, and unwinding of contingent assets
- Advising on the negotiation of investment management and custody agreements
- Advising on governance and administrative queries relating to the European legislation including the IORP II Directive, DORA and GDPR and related issues
- Advising trustees on dispute resolution matters including appeals to the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman
- Advising on administration queries including professional added years, augmentation of benefits, early retirement (including on ill-health) and pension adjustment orders
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