Urgent action is needed after pension figures show just half of the State's two million workers have made provision for retirement, the Minister for Social Affairs said today.
Seamus Brennan said the gap in different employment sectors between those who have made provision for additional income in retirement, and those who appear to be relying solely on the State pension in their later years, is "a stark reminder of the substantial pensions challenge facing this country".
He said the most up-to-date statistics show that, out of a total workforce of over two million people (1.1 million men and 880,000 women), almost 930,000 have no supplementary pension. That figure is made up of 494,000 men and 435,000 women.
The statistics show that in the 20-24 age group, 69,000 have personal pensions while 181,000 have made no provision. Among 25- to 34-year-olds, the ratio improves, with 323,000 with pensions and 286,000 without, and the gap closes for older workers.
Mr Brennan was speaking to mark National Pensions Action Week, which takes place from Monday March 12th to Sunday March 18th. The awareness campaign is run by the Pensions Board with the aid of €1 million in Government funding for this year.
The campaign started in 2003 following the launch of the Personal Retirement Savings Accounts, which now provide pensions for over 95,000 people.
A number of initiatives throughout next week will focus on different target groups, including women, younger people and certain areas of the economy with low pensions coverage. The agricultural and hospitality sectors have the lowest coverage.
Statistics show that of the 288,300 people employed in the retail sector, over 197,000 people have no occupational pensions compared with just over 81,000 who have. Some 9,800 surveyed did not know whether they had a pension, or replied "not applicable".
In health, with over 182,000 employed, over 110,000 have pensions and close to 67,000 do not; in education, almost 99,000 out of 139,600 have pensions and over 38,000 do not.
Mr Brennan said the healthiest picture emerges from the public administration sector, employing over 105,000, where more than 97,000 have occupational pensions and 7,462 do not.
The Government will use next week's awareness campaign to appeal to people with maturing SSIA accounts to reinvest them in pensions. Incentives announced last year will allow those who transfer their SSIA savings into an approved pension scheme to top up their savings to a maximum of €2,500 with Exchequer funding.
The Government green paper on the future of pensions policy will be completed by the end of March, Mr Brennan said.