Fianna Fáil TD for Carlow, Jennifer Murnane O’Connor has received an update on the anticipated start date for the introduction of the pensions auto-enrolment (AE) system from the Minister for Social Protection.
Deputy Murnane O’Connor questioned the Minister in the Dáil on the start date and plans to communicate the changes to the general public.
The Carlow TD commented, “I have been informed that the Minister’s department is currently working on finalising a proposal for Government on the overall design of the AE system. According to the Economic Recovery Plan 2021, it is hoped that the design can be completed by the end of this year. Thereafter, it is intended that the necessary legislative, organisational and process structures will follow over the course of 2022 and 2023.”
In her response, the Minister stated that the Programme for Government commits to introducing a pensions automatic enrolment (AE) system. The objective of this commitment is to address the low proportion of employees in Ireland with supplementary pension cover, which includes both occupational and personal pensions.
According to CSO figures, the rate of supplementary pension coverage is around 55% of the working population (Pension Coverage Survey 2020). It is estimated that this reduces to less than 35% when the private sector is considered in isolation. As a consequence of this low supplementary pension coverage rate, many retirees may suffer an unwanted reduction in living standards when they retire.