Project Challenge
The Pensions Authority plays a key regulatory role in Ireland’s pension system, providing oversight and guidance to trustees, administrators, employers, and advisers. Their website serves as a critical access point for documentation, compliance information, and tools like the pensions calculator.
However, the previous platform presented a number of significant challenges. It was built on a proprietary CMS that made content updates difficult and limited flexibility for future development. Accessibility was not fully aligned with current standards, and the document-heavy nature of the site made information hard to manage and navigate.
Security was also a top priority — both in terms of protecting sensitive regulatory content and ensuring compliance with evolving public-sector standards. Additionally, an outdated version of the pensions calculator needed to be rebuilt from the ground up to meet modern usability expectations.
The Authority needed a stable, secure, and accessible platform that would give them more control, support long-term sustainability, and serve a broad audience with clarity and confidence.
The Solution
We migrated the entire website from its legacy proprietary system to a modern, open-source content management solution — giving The Pensions Authority full ownership of their platform while opening the door to long-term flexibility and cost-efficiency.
Security was embedded into every stage of the project. We applied industry best practices for hardening the infrastructure, access control, and content management workflows — ensuring the site met high standards for resilience and protection.
Accessibility was a core priority. We audited and rebuilt key templates, components, and navigation systems to meet WCAG 2.1 AA compliance. Clear content structures, improved navigation, and consistent design patterns helped ensure that guidance material and documentation could be accessed and understood by all users, regardless of ability.
On the back end, we built in document management logic that supported a more automated approach to file storage and presentation — reducing manual effort and improving consistency.
We also fully redeveloped the pensions calculator tool, creating a cleaner, faster, and more accessible experience that allows users to explore estimated outcomes with ease.
The Results
The new Pensions Authority website is secure, sustainable, and built for the future. By migrating to an open-source platform, the internal team now benefits from a more flexible and maintainable system that doesn’t rely on external vendors or locked-down functionality.
Security has been significantly strengthened, giving the Authority peace of mind in managing sensitive public information. Accessibility improvements now allow more users to interact with the platform confidently — with full WCAG 2.1 AA compliance across all major templates and components.
The updated pensions calculator offers a more intuitive and inclusive experience, making it easier for individuals to understand their options and plan ahead.
On the operational side, improved document management automation has reduced overhead for site administrators, streamlining the publishing process for ongoing regulatory updates.
The result is a future-ready platform that reflects the Authority’s role as a trusted, transparent, and user-focused institution — built with precision, and made to last.
Visit the client website here – pensionsauthority.ie