Insurance Ireland has endorsed OECD proposals for a reform of the Irish pension landscape and committed the life industry to implementing the necessary changes so that a universal enrolment pensions system can be established for all workers in the state.

Speaking at the Insurance Ireland Conference ‘Is Ireland Really Ready for a Universal Pension?’, Insurance Ireland President Gerry Hassett said that Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton, has shown significant vision in taking the first steps towards what will be the biggest single economic reform undertaken in Ireland in decades. Mr Hassett said that the industry is not only best placed to implement a national solution along the lines envisaged by the OECD but that Insurance Ireland is committed to a dialogue with Government, the pensions industry and with the social partners so that a cost-effective and robust system of retirement savings can be put in place.

‘Our knowledge and expertise can and should be deployed to ensure that a Universal pensions system is implemented in a cost-effective manner. We stand willing and ready to play a constructive role in creating the solution’ he said.  

Indicating that that Irish pension charges had, for most workers, fallen in recent years and had been found to be in line with other OECD countries, Mr. Hassett said a universal enrolment system offered further opportunity for savings. ‘A feature of the Universal Pension model will be to drive charges down still further. The industry will meet this and all other challenges so that households can better save for their own retirement, rely less on the state and thus reduce the need for Government to fill the gap,’ he said.

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