Ireland. A decent pension system isn’t something we can keep putting off
By John Mercer
Ireland is entering a pivotal phase of transformational pensions change that should have a positive impact on individual retirement savers. The good news is that many of the necessary foundations for change are already in place – all that remains is a commitment to prioritising the rollout.
The first development has now arrived with the long overdue implementation last week of the EU’s IORP II Directive. This slightly indigestible-sounding piece of legislation will govern the private retirement savings and benefit entitlements of nearly one million pension savers, and even more retirees, in Ireland.
The Directive comes at an important time in the evolution of company pensions here as most people are now members of defined contribution rather than defined benefit schemes. This means that guaranteed pensions based on a percentage of salary have become an enviable exception.
For most of today’s pension savers, having sufficient funds at retirement will largely depend on the quality and timing of their investment decisions, the information received to make those choices, and the standards of governance of the vehicles to which they entrust their hard-earned money.
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