Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 6 October 2004
156 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of persons in possession of a personal retirement savings account; his views on the low level of interest in the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23301/04]
View answerInformation on the number of Personal Retirement Savings Accounts, PRSAs, opened is received by the Pensions Board from PRSA providers at the end of each quarter. The latest figures available relate to the end of June 2004 and these show that 32,920 accounts have been opened with a total asset value of €83 million. Figures for the period up to the end of September 2004 will not be available for at least another month.
As the Deputy will be aware, it is Government policy to encourage people to participate in occupational and private pension arrangements so that they can, when they retire, maintain their pre-retirement standard of living. The national pensions policy initiative suggested that up to 70% of those in employment who are 30 years of age or over, will need to supplement their social welfare pension for this purpose. At present, 59.1% of people in this target group have the necessary pensions cover.
PRSAs were launched in 2003 and are one of the main policy instruments being adopted in pursuit of Government targets in this area. The Government is also running a pensions awareness campaign, through the Pensions Board, to encourage take-up of all types of private and occupational pensions, not just PRSAs.
Since the launch of PRSAs, the number opening accounts has grown steadily. In September 2003, the number of people with accounts was 6,707 and, as already indicated, this had grown to almost 33,000 by the end of June this year. This growth in numbers is encouraging and I hope that this upward trend will be seen to continue when the next set of figures is released.
Research has shown that there is a high level of awareness of pensions issues by the general public and the challenge is to translate this into increased actual coverage. The Pensions Board is running a very targeted awareness campaign this year aimed at groups with low pensions coverage. They have also been involved in an extensive control project to identify employers who are not honouring their legal obligations with regard to access to PRSAs for their employees. I hope this effort will manifest itself in improved coverage figures in the future.
The take-up of PRSAs and pensions generally is being monitored closely and the overall number of people with pensions has increased. A review of the position is required under legislation in 2006 and at that stage progress towards Government targets will be assessed and, if appropriate, other strategies will be considered to increase coverage.
