Insurance federation calls for SSIA tax breaks

THE Irish Insurance Federation has called on the Government to give tax breaks to SSIA holders to encourage them to continue saving.

In its pre-Budget submission, the IIF says the maturing of the 1.2 million accounts offers the Government a “once in a lifetime opportunity to build on the savings culture” that SSIAs began.

IIF president Tom Barry said: “We have given the Government a number of options to consider such as developing a private pension product with SSIA features.

“We also propose that Government provide financial incentives to SSIA account holders to encourage them to reinvest in retirement savings.

“The impact on revenue now is negligible in comparison to the benefits for Irish society.

“This could become a turning point in Ireland’s attitude to retirement savings, and should be seen as such.”

The IIF are urging Finance Minister Brian Cowen to waive the SSIA tax liability of 23% if the saver puts at least half of their money into a personal pension.

It also proposes lifting tax limits on contributions to personal pensions encourage more people to invest their SSIA funds back into pension schemes.

The IIF repeated it calls from last year for the Government to back personal pension accounts for all children in the country.

The federation is also calling on the Government to deliver immediately on commitments in the National Road Safety Strategy.

The IIF said far from treating road safety as a priority it believes the Government has failed in addressing the continuing carnage on our roads.

“It is to the Government’s credit that it was the first government to adopt a National Road Safety Strategy, but aspirations do not save lives and it is another thing entirely to implement the strategy properly.

“Saving hundreds of lives and thousands of serious injuries requires political interest and political will.

“Sadly to date this will seems to be lacking,” its submission said.

It wants the full rollout of the penalty points systems, legislation to allow the outsourcing of speed camera detection and random breath testing and an increase in the numbers in the Garda Traffic Corps.

The IIF has also called for the ending of the controversial 2% levy on non-life insurance policies, with the savings being passed on to consumers.