Notes to the financial statements

33.Retirement benefit obligations

Pension benefits
The Group operates a number of defined benefit and defined contribution schemes which provide retirement and death benefits for the majority of employees. The schemes are funded through separate trustee controlled funds.

The contributions paid to the defined benefit schemes are in accordance with the advice of professionally qualified actuaries. The latest actuarial valuation reports for these schemes, which are not available for public inspection, are dated between 5 April 2005 and 1 July 2008. The contributions paid to the scheme in 2008 are in accordance with the contribution rates recommended in the actuarial valuation reports.

The amounts recognised in the balance sheet are determined as follows:

The amounts recognised in the income statement are as follows:

The actual return on plan assets was a loss of €81.4 million (2007: €9.3 million loss).

The movement in the liability recognised in the balance sheet over the year is as follows:

The movement in obligations over the year is as follows:

The movement in the fair value of plan assets over the year is as follows:

The principal actuarial assumptions used were as follows:

Plan assets are comprised as follows:

The expected return on plan assets was determined by considering the expected returns available on the assets underlying the current investment policy. Expected yields on fixed interest investments are based on gross redemption yields as at the balance sheet date. Expected returns on equity and property reflect long-term real rates of return experienced in the respective markets.

Contributions to post-employment benefit plans are expected to increase in 2009.

Mortality rates
Assumptions regarding future mortality experience are set based on actuarial advice in accordance with published statistics and experience in each territory. The mortality assumptions imply the following life expectancies in years of an active member on retiring at age 65, 20 years from now:

The mortality assumptions imply the following life expectancies in years of an active member, aged 65, retiring now:

Sensitivity analysis for principal assumptions used to measure scheme liabilities
There are inherent uncertainties surrounding the financial assumptions adopted in calculating the actuarial valuation of the Group's defined benefit pension schemes. The following table analyses, for the Group's Irish and UK pension schemes, the estimated impact on the plan liabilities resulting from changes to key actuarial assumptions, whilst holding all other assumptions constant.