Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 28 April 2004
78 Mr. O’Shea asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of persons who had taken out a personal retirement savings account by the end of January 2004; if she has satisfied herself with the level of take up of the accounts; her plans to promote awareness of these accounts; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12054/04]
Amharc ar fhreagraInformation 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 December 2003 and these show that 19,022 accounts have been opened with a total asset value of €41 million. This is a significant improvement on the position at the end of September 2003 when a total of 6,707 accounts were in existence. Figures for the period up to March 2004 are currently being collected by the Pensions Board and will be made available by the board in the next couple of weeks.
The increase in the number of new accounts opened since September 2003 is encouraging and I look forward to seeing further progress when the March 2004 figures are available. We are at an early stage in our programme to increase overall pensions coverage but it is clear that certain progress has already being made. It has always been acknowledged that, given the nature of pensions, achievement in this area would be slow. In 2003, the Pensions Board ran a very successful pensions awareness campaign on my behalf to supplement the publicity effort being made by PRSA providers. An assessment of the situation at the end of the year showed a high level of awareness amongst the public of pensions issues. The challenge is to translate this awareness into increased supplementary pensions coverage. I have provided further resources this year to continue this awareness campaign.
In this regard, in early March, I launched an information booklet on pensions options for women. A series of local pensions fora were also run in March in areas identified in the CSO survey as having a low level of supplementary pensions coverage. The fora were backed up by local press and radio coverage and, indeed, they also resulted in some welcome national radio coverage. Upcoming initiatives include extensive promotion of women's pension issues as well as TV and radio advertising. It is also planned to have another pensions awareness week later on in the year.
79 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of persons currently in receipt of a State pension; her Department’s assessment of the numbers of persons likely to be in receipt of State pensions over the next decade; and the provisions which are being made in that regard; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12058/04]
Amharc ar fhreagraAt the end of March 2004, there were 201,788 people receiving an old age contributory or retirement pension and 86,194 receiving an old age non-contributory pension. An actuarial review of the social insurance fund, undertaken on behalf of my Department in 2002, projected that the number of recipients of old age contributory and retirement pensions will increase to 255,000 by 2011 and 321,000 by 2016. The increase will, to some extent, be balanced by a reduction in the number of people receiving an old age non-contributory pension. The numbers receiving this pension have declined by over 20% in the last ten years which reflects improved social insurance coverage and increased labour force participation, particularly amongst women.
In common with other European countries, the population of Ireland is ageing as a result of a combination of increasing life expectancy and a declining birth rate. The decline in the birth rate is relatively recent and this, coupled with the effects of high emigration for much of the period up to the 1990s, has resulted in Ireland having the lowest proportion of older people in the EU. with 11.2% aged 65 years and over, compared to the current EU average of 16.1%. The proportion of older people in Ireland will remain at broadly the same level for the next ten years after which it is projected to increase rapidly to 15% in 2021, 19% in 2031 and 28% in 2056. A similar situation exists with regard to the number of pensioners relative to the number at work.
Ageing, therefore, presents the same challenge to Ireland in meeting growing pension costs as to other countries except that we have a longer period to prepare for its full impact. The population projections suggest that no special measures are required in the time scale envisaged by the Deputy. However, the Government is making preparations, through the National Pensions Reserve Fund, to part-fund state pensions costs from 2025 onwards.
Pensions have been an important issue at EU level in recent years. This is not surprising given that the challenges facing pensions systems are more immediate for other member states. The EU has assessed national pensions systems under agreed objectives in the area of adequacy, financial sustainability and modernisation. In this regard, a joint EU Commission and Council report, published in 2003, considered that Ireland has made good progress in ensuring both the financial sustainability and adequacy of our pensions system. The report concluded that our system appears to be, in broad terms, financially sustainable despite projected major increases in future pensions expenditure. The situation will be kept under review.
