More than 200,000 people at work now will face "unexpected hardship" in retirement because official indifference and the complacency of financial institutions has seriously eroded the value of their pensions, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions said today (Sept. 22).
Speaking ahead of a major Congress conference on the future of pension provision in Ireland, on September 29, senior official Fergus Whelan said:
"It is now clear that the serious crisis in Irish pensions will only be resolved by the creation of an entirely new universal, and 'fit for purpose' mandatory pension provision. The current system is untenable.
"We hope to hear from Social Protection Minister Leo Varadkar, who will speak at our conference, on how the state intends to tackle this very serious problem. It is our clear view that only a new mandatory scheme for all workers and employers stands any chance of success. The conference will also learn how the universal system works in Australia."
Mr Whelan pointed out that many at work today in Ireland will slide into poverty in retirement, while others will barely make ends meet.
"But this will not happen because they failed to make adequate provision for their retirement. Instead they are victims of poor regulatory oversight, official indifference and complacency in the financial sector."
He said the Pensions" Authority's most recent report reveals that from a peak of 1500 healthy Defined Benefit pension schemes a few years ago, with nearly 300,000 active members, only 429 vulnerable schemes remain, covering little more than 100,000 active members.
"While the Defined Benefit model is in decline internationally, it is our belief that the scale of the losses suffered by Irish workers is far greater than elsewhere."
