14 October, 2014.  Insurance Ireland, the representative body for the insurance sector, welcomes the abolition of the pensions levy of 0.6% by end 2014 and the phasing out of the additional 0.15% levy by the end of 2015.

Kevin Thompson, Chief Executive, Insurance Ireland, said, “Insurance Ireland was very disappointed last year at the continuation of the pensions levy, which was widely regarded as a serious disincentive to saving for retirement. The country has public debt of €192bn but this becomes insignificant when you take account hidden state pension liabilities estimated at €440bn. Our population is continuing to grow and people are living longer into retirement, and clearly we need to address the issue of pensions in a very fundamental way. Government wants people to save for retirement to reduce the significant burden on the state, but the pensions levy ran entirely counter to achieving that goal. Today’s announcement in relation to the ending of the levy is very significant and will encourage more people to save for their pension.”

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