Insurance Ireland Publishes Paper on Charges in Irish Pensions Market

• Research paper commissioned to improve transparency and understanding of Ireland’s pensions landscape.
• Focus of paper on occupational pension schemes – those provided by employers to their staff – as they represent over 85% of pension cashflows in Ireland.
• Research finds Typical such charges today are around 0.8% per annum, which is broadly in line with a 2012 report from the Department of Social Protection* and offers good value to consumers.

16th June 2023 – Insurance Ireland today published a paper on charges in the Irish pensions market. The focus of the paper is on occupational pension schemes, which represent over 85% of pension cashflows in Ireland.

Typical charges today are around 0.8%** per annum, which is broadly in line with a 2012 report from the Department of Social Protection* and offers good value to consumers. The charges within a pension product are key to its operation and success, reflecting high quality services including the annual renewal of data, member communications, administration, investment of assets, trustee secretarial and the preparation of the trustee annual report and financial statements.***

Moyagh Murdock, CEO of Insurance Ireland, said: “As we move towards an auto-enrolment system of pension savings, the subject of pension charges will  be increasingly debated. This paper was commissioned to improve transparency and understanding of Ireland’s pensions landscape.

“The findings show that the Irish pension market is highly competitive where employers take steps to seek out best in class terms for their employees. Thousands of employers are delivering valuable pension arrangements to their employees.”

More broadly, there is a call for increased transparency around the charges involved with pensions and as well as the general workings of the landscape. Insurance Ireland believes this would be a hugely positive step and, for its part, will shortly be launching a pensions information campaign for consumers.

“A private pension provides employees financial security and ensures they have adequate income to  sustain their standard of living after retirement. It is a tax efficient way of saving for retirement and savers should have clarity around the level of charges that they are paying. Increased clarity not only develops confidence around the pension savings system but also highlights that the pensions industry offers good value for money to consumers and employees. Participating in a private pension encourages individuals to plan for their retirement and take proactive steps towards securing their financial future.” Moyagh Murdock concluded.