October 2022
11Oct

Ireland. Government Pushes Ahead With Pension Auto Enrolment

The government has approved the details of its new pension auto-enrolment scheme in what Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys described as a "generational reform" of the Irish pensions system. The General Scheme of the Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System has now been referred to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection for pre-legislative scrutiny. If passed into law, the scheme will require workers to pay into a voluntary workplace pension scheme, co-funded by their employer and the state on an...

October 11, 2022
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September 2022
21Sep

Ireland to increase state pension for those who work beyond 66

Ireland will offer anyone over 66 a higher state pension the longer they stay in work, sidestepping a recommendation by a government-appointed commission to gradually increase the retirement age to 68 to help fund the ageing population. Under the proposed flexible model agreed by ministers on Tuesday, people will have the option from 2024 to continue working up until the age of 70 in return for a higher pension for each additional year they work. The state pension currently stands at...

September 21, 2022
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August 2022
16Aug

Older people face losing €1,532 in spending power by end of year

Older people are facing a cost of living crisis as rising inflation takes its toll on pensions and savings. By the end of 2023, older persons could lose 15% to 20% of their spending power putting them at risk of poverty. According to Age Action, Ireland’s leading advocacy agency on older persons and ageing, the average older person will lose €1,532 in spending power by the end of this year. The average older couple will lose €3,364. The charity is calling on...

August 16, 2022
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09Aug

Central Bank of Ireland launches climate change risk guidance for insurance sector

The Central Bank of Ireland has commenced a public consultation on proposals to introduce guidance on climate change risks for the insurance sector. The proposed guidance aims to clarify the Central Bank’s expectations on how (re)insurers address climate change risks in their business and to assist them in developing their governance and risk management frameworks to do this. The Central Bank has said that the increased frequency and severity of weather-related events linked to climate change are already having an impact...

August 9, 2022
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April 2022
18Apr

Ireland. Pension bill will rise €7m a year by end of the decade

The government will be paying €7 billion a year more on pensions and healthcare for retired people by the end of the decade, the Department of Finance has warned, as it included Ireland’s ageing demographic on a list of risks to the economy released last week. John McCarthy, the department’s chief economist, said spending on older people would rise steadily over the coming years, while the cost of borrowing was also likely to rise and the economy would be vulnerable...

April 18, 2022
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March 2022

Ireland. State to pay €1 for every €3 a worker puts into new auto-enrolment pension scheme
31Mar

Ireland. State to pay €1 for every €3 a worker puts into new auto-enrolment pension scheme

About 750,000 workers who do not currently have a pension will be enrolled in a new workplace pension scheme from January 2024, it has been announced. The Cabinet has agreed its long-awaited auto-enrolment pension scheme, which will cost the taxpayer €3 billion in its first year. Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys has said this pension scheme will operate in addition to the State pension and will kick in at retirement age which is currently 66. The State will pay €1 for...

March 31, 2022
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February 2022
08Feb

Ireland. Fix pensions now or risk future misery for a million workers who aren’t saving

Frustration is growing over the glacial pace at which successive governments have approached our deepening pensions crisis. CSO figures published last week show two-thirds of workers aged 20 to 69 have employment-based or personal pension savings to supplement the state pension. Read also Jamaica. Tourism pension fund likely to grow faster than traditional funds – Goffe That might seem reassuring, but once you exclude the public sector, there are around a million private sector workers with no supplementary pension savings at...

February 8, 2022
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November 2021
10Nov

Ireland. ESRI says cheaper childcare and flexible work arrangements will keep women working longer

Cheaper childcare and flexible working is needed to bridge the gender pension gap and keep women in employment for longer, according to a leading think-tank. The Economic Social and Research Institute (ESRI) will tell TDs and Senators today that there is a gender gap of 35pc for retired women compared to retired men. Appearing before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Social Protection, Dr Claire Keane will tell politicians that cheaper childcare, flexible work arrangements and long-term care services are crucial to...

November 10, 2021
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October 2021
19Oct

Irish pensions system at risk, new study says

The €5 hike in the State pension in last week’s budget, along with delays in increasing retirement age and introducing automatic enrolment into savings plans, all threaten the sustainability of the pensions system over the long term, according to a new study. The Mercer study points to considerable future challenges as the population ages due to the topping up of what is described as a “generous” pensions system, and a failure to address core issues. Also adding to the problem is...

October 19, 2021
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14Oct

Ireland. Pensions adequacy, planning for better life expectancy

By 2070, males born in Ireland will be expected to live 22 years longer than they would have in 1951, while females would be expected to live 23 years longer. Earlier this month, the Department of Finance released a report which suggested that the best way to deal with the pensions timebomb was to link the state pension age to life expectancy. The report was not greeted with enthusiasm. Political pressure after the last election forced a deferral of the planned...

October 14, 2021
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