Pensions ‘time bomb’ will tick until 2009
Social Affairs Minister Martin Cullen has said he doesn’t expect to submit proposals to Cabinet until the end of 2008. That being the case, it would be 2009 before the Government implemented specific policies to address the public’s low pension take-up.
In May 2005, Mr Cullen’s predecessor, Seamus Brennan, warned 900,000 of the estimated national workforce of two million people did not have a private or occupational pension. He said unless “urgent action” was taken many of the 900,000 would have to rely on the basic state pension as their main source of income in retirement. Mr Brennan then asked the Pensions Board to bring forward a review of the situation.
That review was published last year, and suggested the most practical approach was to combine an increase in the state pension with a mandatory supplementary system. But rather than act immediately, the Government decided the review would feed into a “green paper”. This green paper was published last month, but did not contain specific recommendations. Instead, it outlined the pros and cons of the various options. Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said it marked “the beginning of a dialogue” on the issue.
Mr Cullen then said a consultation process would take place to seek the public’s views. That prompted Labour social affairs spokeswoman Roisin Shortall to ask Mr Cullen how long this would take.
In a written response this past week, Mr Cullen replied: “Given the importance of the issue, I am anxious to ensure the consultation process is as inclusive as possible... Therefore, I intend to leave it open until mid-2008.
“It would be my intention to see this work completed and proposals submitted to the Government by the end of 2008.”
