Government ‘doing terrible job' of simplifying pensions, survey shows
It comes as Social Protection Minister Dara Calleary has launched what he said was a major national awareness campaign for the new auto-enrolment pension, called My Future Fund.
A survey of more than 130 financial advisers nationwide, undertaken by leading pension trustee, Independent Trustee Company, found one in three believe the Government has done a 'terrible job' around simplifying pensions.
It said confusion and inequities around the planned auto-enrolment pension system will only act to 'muddy the pension landscape' rather than simplify it.
More than half of the pension advisers surveyed feel the Government has failed to live up to its commitment to make pensions easier to understand for consumers.
In the early 2000s the then government made a commitment to simplify the complex array of pension options available in the hope of promoting better retirement savings among individuals.
It has reiterated its commitment to this objective in recent years.
But more than half of financial advisers surveyed are unhappy with what the Government has done.
Of these, one in three advisers believe the Government has done a 'terrible job' around pension simplification and has 'actually made things worse'.
And one in five describe the Government's work as substandard, saying it 'has not had any real impact'.
Only one in 10 feel the Government has done a good job, adding while progress has been made, there is more to do.
Head of business development with the Independent Trustee Company, Glenn Gaughran said: 'At a time when the Government clearly needs to boost pension coverage in this country, it is worrying that so many pension advisers feel the Government is losing its battle to simplify pensions.'
He said auto-enrolment has a real potential to address the country's pension coverage gap by automatically enrolling workers without existing pension plans.
'However, the rollout of auto-enrolment has been delayed time and time again, with the scheme now to start on January 1, 2026.'
Mr Calleary said there will be targeted communication and intense engagement with key stakeholders.
The fund will see employers match the amount saved by their employees, while the State will then top up each participant's savings by €1 for every €3 they contribute.
Mr Calleary said the fund would transform how people save for their retirement. All employees aged between 23 and 60 who are not in an occupational pension scheme and earning over €20,000 will be automatically enrolled.
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