Plans endorsed by Social Protection Minister Leo Varadkar for reform of the pensions industry have been welcomed by the pensions industry.

TRYING to instigate a discussion that might acknowledge our looming pensions’ crisis brings to mind those myriad sandwich-board men who warned us all with unshakeable certainty that “The End Is Nigh” — we all know he will be right eventually but we’re not that bothered about the grim prospect to do anything about it just yet. Make us good Lord, but not just yet.

The body that represents the largest corporate pension funds and pension investment managers has said the value of savings held in pension schemes is now higher than before the crash, despite the Government extracting an estimated €2.5bn in levies over the last four years.

The Government’s pension levy haul yesterday passed the €2.3bn mark as a further €140m was raided from private sector pension funds.

Two thirds of retired public service workers who saw their pensions slashed during the economic crash are set to benefit from increases of up to €1,680 over the next three years, in sharp contrast to their private sector colleagues.

The reduction in the controversial pension levy which has siphoned more than €2bn from private sector pensions in the past four years was universally welcomed yesterday.

A Labour Court recommendation last year has meant that AIB is contributing up to three times the national average to its workers’ pension pots.

In the face of escalating and ever more frightening warnings around pensions, and the very real prospect of real poverty for hundreds of thousands of people and their dependants, the Government’s inaction on this festering crisis seems at best recklessly negligent.

The amount of money people are putting into their pension to save for their retirement reached record levels last year.

Unless employees take a more active role in managing their pension contributions, they may find themselves struggling when they retire.

Michael Noonan has been urged to do a U-turn on his pension proposals in next month’s Finance Bill; with proposed pension levy changes being slammed as unjustified and a potential deterrent to people saving for retirement.

The Government was accused last night of reversing a commitment to scrap the pension levy, with the Budget 2014 announcement that it will actually increase next year.

Any change to the marginal rate tax relief in next month’s budget would be hugely detrimental to attempts to encourage people to save for retirement as it would introduce a disincentive to save, according to one leading body.

A major player in the pensions industry has called on employers to close off defined benefit pension schemes and move their staff into defined contribution (DC) schemes instead.

When organisations as disparate as IBEC, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, the Irish Association of Pension Funds and the Society of Actuaries in Ireland find common cause and warn Government of a looming crisis then only a foolish politician would look the other way and hope the problem will resolve itself.

Ireland’s rapidly ageing population is leading to a financial time bomb, with warnings that no plan is in place to cope with the dramatic rise in those aged over 65.

Unlike the difficulties Cyprus encountered when trying to levy bank deposits, our Government’s raid on pension funds here was carried out almost without incident, writes Joe Brennan

The increased mobility of the Irish workforce will pose a serious challenge for Irish pension trustees according to the Irish Association of Pension Funds (IAPF).

Almost half of all adults are relying on the state pension to see them through retirement, according to a survey conducted by the Irish Association of Pension Funds.

As the Government introduces legislation with one hand to force pension schemes to meet certain solvency levels, it has withdrawn over €800m from Irish pension funds with the other hand.

The pensions landscape is going to be dramatically changed and private sector workers are going to have to either work longer or pay more into their pension schemes.

The Irish Association of Pension Funds has hit out at the Government for hesitating over its plans to provide for people losing out from defined benefit pension scheme failures.

THE Government cannot justify cutting pension tax relief in the budget, according to Standard Life.

IRELAND’s creaking pensions sector has come in for further criticism, with the head of the Pension Funds Association warning that further takes from the sector, in the upcoming budget, could ultimately kill off any long-term savings culture here.

SOCIAL Protection Minister Joan Burton has said the Government will publish final details of its much anticipated sovereign annuity pension initiative “shortly”.

POLITICIANS cannot resist expediency. Urgent takes precedence over important. Years of demographic analysis, a Green Paper in 2007 and the launch of the National Pension Framework in March of last year set out our looming dilemma of unfunded pension obligations. By 2050 the ratio of workers to retirees will be 1.8: 1. Currently that ratio is 5.6: 1.

PRIVATE pension holders will bear the cost of the controversial new levy after Finance Minister Michael Noonan gave the green light to fund managers to pass on the charge to customers.

The €1.9bn levy on private pension pots has been branded a tax on jobs and savings.

THE Government is to take €2,000 from hundreds of thousands of workers’ private pensions over the next four years under a new levy.

THE National Treasury Management Agency is set to start issuing new Government bonds specifically aimed at Irish-managed pension funds, before the end of this month.

LEGISLATION enabling pension funds to invest more in the domestic economy — and gain value from doing so — was formally passed yesterday.

A BUDGET provision that will allow cash-starved pension schemes to purchase annuities invested in Irish government bonds could be a ‘win-win’ situation for both scheme members and the state’s finances.

Dublin: Patrick Burke, director of Irish Life Investment Managers, has been elected chairman of the European Federation for Retirement Provision (EFRP), which represents national pension funds in 26 European countries.

ANGLO Irish Bank is one of just three of Ireland’s largest firms to have sufficient assets in their pension scheme to meet the retirement needs of employees.

DURING the week the Government had a brief moment of clarity and realised the stresses facing the defined benefit pensions sector.

THE struggling pensions sector was thrown a lifeline yesterday after a November deadline for under funded defined benefit (DB) pension schemes to submit proposals to address their deficits was extended.

THE Irish Association of Pension Funds (IAPF) has launched a strong attack on the Government over its failure to deal with the crisis threatening Irish pension funds.

A LEADING pensions expert has called for a radically new approach to pension funding to deal with crisis.

EMPLOYERS’ group IBEC has called for an urgent review of pension rules and has warned of the death of many defined benefit schemes if funding standards – put in place by the Pensions Board – are not altered.

The 'Older & Bolder' campaign has said that a cut to the state pension would be "an assault on vulnerable older people".