Two-thirds of workers (66 per cent) in the Republic had some form of private pension coverage, over and above the State pension, in the third quarter of last year, new figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show.
The level of coverage was unchanged from the year before. Coverage was greatest among workers aged 45-54 years (77 per cent), while it remained lowest among younger workers. Three in ten (31 per cent) workers aged 20-24 years had some form of pension coverage.
Of those in employment who had a pension in the third quarter, more than seven in 10 (73 per cent) had occupational pension coverage only (from current or previous employments), 10 per cent had personal pension coverage only, while 17 per cent had both occupational and personal pensions for their retirement, the CSO said.
Occupational pension cover, where the scheme is run by the employer, has remained unchanged since 2021, it said, noting 73 per cent of workers had occupational pension cover only.
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The Government is continuing to work on legislation for an auto-enrolment scheme for pensions amid concern over future pension provision due to the State’s ageing population.
Under the scheme, workers who do not have an occupational pension will be automatically enrolled in a new retirement savings scheme if they’re aged 23 to 60.
However, Department of Finance officials have cast doubt on whether the scheme will be ready to commence in 2024 as per the Government’s plan.
The CSO’s survey found that of workers eligible for auto-enrolment, almost one in five (18 per cent) said they were aware of the scheme, and of these, almost two-thirds (65 per cent) said that they would stay in the scheme if automatically enrolled in it.
Of workers with occupational pension cover, more than six in ten (62 per cent) identified their pension as a defined contribution pension, while almost a third (32 per cent) had a defined benefit occupational pension from their current job, while 6 per cent had a hybrid pension.
Rates of defined-benefit occupational pension cover was highest in older age groups, with 47 per cent of women and 37 per cent of males in the 55-69 age group having this type of provision. Conversely, just 24 per cent of employees aged 25-34 years had a defined-benefit occupational pension.
The economic sector with the highest pension cover was public administration (98 per cent). The lowest coverage level was in the accommodation and food services sector (24 per cent).
The State pension was cited as the expected main source of income on retirement for nearly six in 10 (57 per cent) workers with no pension coverage, while more than a quarter (26 per cent) had not yet decided what their main source of income would be.
