While 800,000 people are covered by occupational pension schemes and about EUR90 billion worth of assets are under management, at present nearly half of Irish workers are not covered by occupational or private pension schemes. As a result, these workers face a substantial fall in living standards when they reach retirement.
The challenge for the pensions industry itself is to mobilise private savings and to deliver investment returns that can provide adequate pensions when they fall due. An important factor in this is to ensure that pension products are sold in as transparent a way as possible.