Pension top-up could benefit 500,000

Up to 500,000 special savings account holders on low incomes will be able to benefit from a new pension ‘top-up’ incentive announced by Finance Minister Brian Cowen yesterday.

The well-flagged extension of the SSIA scheme was unveiled by Mr Cowen yesterday as part of the Finance Bill. He said it was designed to encourage more people on lower incomes to transfer funds into pension schemes.

Under the scheme, the Government will give an extra €1 for every €3 transferred from SSIA accounts into pensions. It will be confined to those on the 20% tax rate or below.