Half of 30-45 agegroup ‘no pension’

Half of Irish people aged 30-45 have not started a pension despite the fact many of them are worried about their financial future.

The survey, undertaken by Red C on behalf of Bank of Ireland Life, found that 50% of people aged 30-45 have not yet started saving for their retirement, despite 39% being concerned about having a sufficient income to do all the things they want to do when they retire.

Head of pensions at Bank of Ireland Life, Bernard Walsh, said people need to be realistic about their pensions.

“There is an old Chinese proverb ‘the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago — the second best time is now. If you haven’t put a plan in place to save for your future, then now is the time to start,” he said.

Despite half of people in the age category not having any plan in place to pay for their retirement, 85% of them say they are worried they will not have the savings to enjoy the retirement they are after.

Nearly 80% of people surveyed said that they believe they will have to work beyond the State’s retirement age because they simply will not be able to afford retirement.

Three quarters say they lack confidence that they could live off the current state pension, with people between 40-45 years old the least confident.

For those who are not saving or could be saving more, the most common reason is because they believe they cannot afford it (63%).

Affordability and a lack of understanding about pensions are stronger reasons for women (61% and 23% respectively), whilst not wanting to commit money to a pension is a stronger reason for men (22%).

Mr Walsh said that people need to be realistic about saving for their pensions.