This year is set to be pivotal for the Irish pension system.

Ambitious plans set out in 2018 are progressing, albeit with problems still to be resolved, while the government is expected to introduce legislation enacting the EU’s IORP II directive – more than a year after the deadline passed in January 2019.

Changes to the state pension age are also coming into force, rising from 66 to 67. However, the Irish Association of Pension Funds (IAPF) has warned that people affected have not been properly prepared. Those turning 65 this year could be forced to seek government support through the jobseekers’ allowance, according to IAPF chief executive Jerry Moriarty.

“The fact that our government expects the 30,000 people who will turn 65 in 2020 to sign up for jobseekers’ allowance for two years is nothing short of an insult,” he says. “A group who will have contributed to both the Irish tax take and the Irish economy for over 40 years should not have to face this prospect after a lifetime of work.” The IAPF has called for the introduction of a “reduced pension” to help this group.

The government should also consider phasing in the age increase, Moriarty says, “to avoid the cliff edge and to ensure that these pensioners do not lose out on a full year’s pension” The state pension question is one of many issues currently in the inbox of Regina Doherty, the minister for employment and social affairs, however.

Auto-enrolment latest

In a statement published in October, the Irish government announced the approval a “large part” of its proposed automatic enrolment pension system, slated to open for contributions in 2022.

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