Sean Sherlock
Question:143 Deputy Seán Sherlock asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs her views on the effectiveness of policies in relation to the take-up of supplementary pensions. [39557/08]
View answerTuesday, 11 November 2008
Questions (71, 72)
Michael D. Higgins
Question:155 Deputy Michael D. Higgins asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the timetable she is working to in relation to a decision on future pensions policy. [39515/08]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 143 and 155 together.
Supplementary pension coverage for workers in general was 54% in the first quarter of 2008 and, for the key target group, those aged 30 years and over it, stood at 61%.
Overall, the process was very successful with a wide range of submissions received from both representative organisations and members of the public.
All the submissions are available online at "http://www.pensionsgreenpaper.ie" www.pensionsgreenpaper.ie as is the report on the consultation process itself.
My Department has since met with a number of organisations to explore their submissions in more detail. Unfortunately, while everyone acknowledges the need for pension reform, no consensus has emerged from the consultation process on the nature of the reforms required.
Our objective must be to ensure that we have in place a pensions system which will deliver an adequate retirement income for all our people and which can, at the same time, withstand the cost pressures which will arise in the future as the composition of our population changes and the balance between those at work and those who are retired shifts dramatically.
Question No. 144 answered with Question No. 124.