Three Quarters Without A Pension Think The State Pension Is Not Enough

Monday 5 May 2008: Three quarters of those who currently do not have a pension think the state pension would not be sufficient to adequately meet their needs in retirement. However, 40% of these people do not intend to start a pension in the next 3 years, according to independent consumer market research commissioned by The Pensions Board.

Mr. David Malone, Head of Information Services at The Pensions Board, speaking on the eve of Pensions Sign-Up day as part of National Pensions Action Week 2008, highlighted the greater need for action by those who want more in retirement. “The fact that so many people without a pension acknowledge they will not be able to sustain their current lifestyle on the state pension alone after their career ends yet they are still inclined to long-finger and postpone addressing the issue. The longer you take to begin a pension, the greater the financial pressure later in your career to put enough away to maintain the standard of living enjoyed while in employment. I strongly urge those without pensions to stop putting it off and sign-up to a plan today.”

“Furthermore, a major appeal of pensions savings is the tax benefit received on contributions and this is particularly relevant in the higher tax bracket. Our research has shown that 1 in 4 are still unaware of these tax incentives. We now call on people without a pension to act. Visit the pensions calculators on our website www.pensionsboard.ie for more information and talk to a pensions provider today about your options,” said Mr Malone.

Since May 1, The Pensions Board has been using a multi-media approach to highlight the importance of pensions to future financial security. National Pensions Action Week 2008 runs until Wednesday, May 7, 2008.

- ENDS -

Media Queries:

Maura Howe
Project Manager- National Pensions Action Campaign
The Pensions Board
Tel: (01) 6131900

Glen McGahern
Q4 PR
Tel: (01) 4751444 / 086 - 1940057

Notes:

About The Pensions Board
The Pensions Board is the statutory body set up to regulate occupational pension schemes and PRSAs and to advise the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, and through him, the Government, on overall pension policy development.

Pension Information
The information Unit at The Pensions Board provides a wide range of pension information booklets free of charge and our online Pensions Calculator which can be accessed on www.pensionsboard.ie for the booklets the LoCall number is 1890-65-65-65.

National Pensions Action Week 2008
Thursday 1 – Wednesday 7 May 2008.

Remaining days are as follows:

Monday 5 May International Workers’ Pension Day
The Pensions Board will be promoting pensions to international workers through partnerships with relevant target media and FAS.

Tuesday 6 May National Pensions Sign Up Day
We are calling on providers to place a major emphasis on awareness, understanding and uptake of pensions on this day, targeting in particular potential customers that have been “putting off” starting a pension.

Wednesday 7 May Hospitality Day
The National Pensions Action Week will come to a close with an emphasis on the hospitality sector, which has the lowest pension coverage of all industries. We will work with Fáilte Ireland and the industry to support the promotion of pensions to staff in hotels, bars, cafés, restaurants, leisure centers etc nationwide.

There is a dedicated section of The Pensions Board web-site for the National Pensions Action Campaign, which provides a variety of materials for the promotion of the week in offices, places of work, centers of information throughout the country etc. These resources will include:

  • The updated Pension Checklist
  • Posters
  • Flyers
  • The Pensions Calculator and Savings Calculator
  • General article and presentation on pensions from which you can edit news items for your newsletters or website

The above can be easily downloaded, printed off or posted on relevant websites. For hard copies of the Pensions Checklist please contact the Information Unit directly on info@pensionsboard.ie.

Key Target Sectors

Sectors & demographics where pension awareness and action is low:

  • Hospitality – lowest level of pension coverage of all sectors and highest level of respondents who admitted to having limited knowledge of pensions.
  • Retail – second lowest level of pension coverage and second highest level of respondents admitting to not knowing about pensions in retirement.
  • Farming – third lowest pension coverage among employees and lowest personal pension coverage among self-employed.
  • Women – have lower pension coverage than men at 50.6% in comparison to 58.3%; the gap has been tightening since 2002, but continuous promotion is still required particularly given the nature of their work and fragmented career paths.
  • Population aged 25 – 35 years old – a key target for The Pensions Board, as it is critical that workers start their pension early in their working life in order to ensure they have adequate provision for their retirement.
  • Young People / Graduates – it is important that the pension message reaches people before they start their first job so as to encourage behavioural change towards spending.
  • International Workers – A high percentage of the migrant workers do not have a pension.

(CSO Quarterly National Household Survey 2006 figures)

 
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Pensions Board - Engage with your Pension

About the Pension’s Calculator

  • This pension’s calculator is designed to give a broad indication of the level of contributions required to give your desired pension at your retirement age. This calculator only provides a sample indication of the funding contributions for your pension and no reliance should be placed on it.
  • This calculator does not take into account any contributions an employer might make to your pension.
  • Do you know that contributions paid to a pension scheme will benefit from income tax relief at your highest rate of income tax? This calculator takes into account current income tax relief benefits.
  • For a full and accurate assessment of your personal finances and any tax relief you may be entitled to on your pension contributions always consult with a professional financial adviser

The next step is to talk to your employer, trade union, bank, insurance company, building society or financial advisor about starting your pension today.

Pension Calculator Notes:
  1. Assumptions used: Investment return will be 5% per year before retirement and 4% per year after retirement. Salary will increase at 3% per year. Pension will increase at 2% per year in retirement. The State Pension will increase in line with salary increases. Spouse's annuity assumes a 3 year age gap between the Main Life and Spouse. Your personal illustration above makes an approximate allowance for the recently introduced Pensions Levy (i.e. 0.6% of your Fund Value) until 2014 or your intended retirement year if earlier.
  2. Contribution amounts shown will increase each year as salary increases.
  3. The actual pension at retirement will depend on actual investment return and salary inflation up to retirement and on the cost of purchasing annuities at retirement.
  4. Tax relief calculations take account of age related limits on tax relief in any given year as prescribed by the Revenue. Your financial advisor will be able to help you to stay within your limits. The maximum tax relief as a % of earnings are as follows:
         Under 30: 15%
         30 to 39: 20%
         40 to 49: 25%
         50 to 54: 30%
         55 to 59: 35%
         60 and over: 40%
  5. Contributions or benefits may exceed limits prescribed by the Revenue. Your financial advisor will be able to help you to stay within your limits. Budget 2011, introduced a Standard Fund Threshold (SFT) of €2.3 million. Individuals with pension funds in excess of this value as at 7 December 2010 may apply for a Personal Fund Threshold(PFT). When the capital value of pension benefits drawn down by an individual exceed his or her SFT or PFT as appropriate, a tax charge of 41% is applied to the excess fund.
  6. In these net contribution calculations, PAYE & single persons tax reliefs and single persons tax bands are assumed. It is also assumed that no other tax reliefs apply.
  7. The annuity rate used to convert your pension fund at retirement age is a long term average annuity rate, which makes no allowance for the recent gender equalisation ruling. The annuity rate used in your personal illustration above will be shown when you run the calculator.
  8. This calculator takes account of the fact that the State Pension (Transition) will no longer be paid from 1 January 2014. This means that there will then be a standard State Pension age of 66 years for everyone. If you have qualified for the State Pension Transition before 1 January 2014 you remain entitled to it for the duration of your claim (1 year). State pension age will increase to 67 in 2021 and to 68 in 2028