July 2019

08Jul

Irish pension funds diversify amid uncertain outlook

Pension funds here have lowered their exposure and diversified into property, infrastructure and hedge funds according to a new report from Mercer. The survey of 876 institutional investors across 12 countries managing assets of around €1 trillion found average equity allocations for Irish defined benefit schemes have fallen and now stand at just 28% compared to 34% in 2018 The Mercer's 2019 European Asset Allocation survey also found that bond allocations remain broadly at 50%, while allocations to alternative...

July 8, 2019
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May 2019

08May

Ireland. State pension: lack of clarity criticised as changes delayed

Irish workers close to retirement are calling for clarity on the proposed new State pension system after the Government failed to meet a number of deadlines set under reform plans. In its Roadmap for Pension Reform the Government said it would finalise the design of a new total contributions approach by the end of 2018 and bring forward the scheme’s legislation by the end of March 2019. Having missed both these deadlines, workers are increasingly concerned about the number of...

May 8, 2019
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March 2019

04Mar

Time to grow up over issue of ageing and the workplace

It is a long time since an Irish Taoiseach - Charlie Haughey – was able to boast about the country’s youthful population, about the fact that half of us were aged under 25. Back in the 1980s, we were young and poor, by European standards. The problem was a lack of jobs for our growing population. Since then, we have grown middle-aged. As family sizes have fallen, we have enjoyed what economists refer to as a "demographic dividend" as...

March 4, 2019
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04Mar

Ireland. Public sector ‘benefits the most’ from tax reliefs on pensions

Public servants are the biggest beneficiaries of the tax reliefs on pension contributions, a new report has found. This means that any move to reduce the tax reliefs will hit Government workers hard, prompting them to seek higher pay. The paper, by leading pensions actuaries Tony Gilhawley and Roma Burke, found that the State's contribution to the pension of an average public servant recruited before 2013 is 29pc of their salary, rising to 53pc for gardaí. Private sector workers...

March 4, 2019
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February 2019

27Feb

Ireland. Pension hike for 1,000 people following major government review

ALMOST 1,000 people have got a pension hike following a major government review of their retirement benefits. The pensioners’ payments were reassessed to see if an increase was justified following cuts imposed seven years ago. A full state contributory pension is worth €243.30 a week but many get less than this depending on the contributions they made during their careers. Under the review, officials from the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection applied a new assessment method. It...

February 27, 2019
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26Feb

Ireland. Failure to save for pensions ‘particularly concerning’ for women

More than 60% of women do not have a private pension, a new study has found. According to a survey carried out by Behaviour and Attitudes for Aviva men are more proactive and confident about their retirement income than women. Almost half of the men polled said they had a pension, compared with 37% of women. One in four women surveyed said a pension was something they were unlikely to ever do. Aviva said the results show a pension...

February 26, 2019
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20Feb

Brexit pensions saved after deal between Irish and UK governments

Brexit pensions worries are eased after deal between Irish and UK governmentsFood tariffs threat  to rural heartlandMinisters on alert for UK crash-out The governments of Ireland and Britain have guaranteed the continued payment of state pensions, child benefit and other social welfare payments in the event of the UK crashing out of the EU without a deal. Thousands of people living here get pensions and other payments from Britain, while Ireland also pays people who live in the UK. Now a legally...

February 20, 2019
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18Feb

Ireland. Community employment scheme supervisors to strike

Demonstrations to take place at Intreo offices on Monday over demands on pension rights Up to 500 community employment scheme supervisors are expected to go on strike today amid demands for access to enhanced pension rights. The strike, organised by SIPTU and Forsa members, will see demonstrations at Intreo offices around the country and a central protest at the Department of Finance in Dublin, held at midday. Speaking last week, the general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade...

February 18, 2019
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01Feb

Ireland. Deficits in traditional company pension plans rise to €1.6bn

DEFICITS in traditional company pension plans of quoted companies rose last year, in a move that could put pressure on the schemes. The black holes in the defined benefit pension schemes of Irish listed companies rose by 20pc last year, according to data compiled by Mercer. The projected deficit rose from €1.3bn in 2017 to €1.6bn at the end of 2018, largely due to poor equity market performance at the end of last year. With many of Ireland’s largest...

February 1, 2019
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January 2019

07Jan

Irish pension funds told to ‘diversify and de-risk over the coming year’

Irish pensions fund trustees have been told to “diversify and de-risk over the coming year” amid the huge losses of global stock markets and falling bond yields for some European markets.Pensions firm Aon said the fallout of market turmoil has led to a fall of 5.2% in “the traditional Irish pension managed funds” last month.“Global equity markets fell over the month as weak economic data from China and Europe fanned concerns of a global economic slowdown, leaving investors...

January 7, 2019
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