Pension crisis: 26% of Irish adults surveyed have no financial plans for retirement

The CCPC said the survey data indicates a clear gap in pension coverage in Ireland, even among those a decade or two away from retirement. Picture: iStock

More than a quarter of Irish adults have no financial plans in place for their retirement, and a majority expect to rely on the State pension when they stop working.

Research published by Ireland’s consumer watchdog has revealed what it calls a “worrying trend” as more adults are not putting plans in place for when they retire and a third of people regret not starting a pension sooner.

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) said the figures show a clear gap in pension coverage in Ireland, even among those a decade or two away from retirement, as the Government prepares to introduce auto-enrolment pensions in the new year.

CCPC director of communications Grainne Griffin said: 

With over a quarter of adults still without any retirement plan in place, and others regretting not starting sooner, the message is clear: It’s never too early, or too late, to take action. 

The survey was conducted by Ipsos Market Research during the summer, and based on 1,000 interviews with adults over the age of 18.

Whereas one in five (21%) said they had no financial arrangements for retirement when the survey was taken last year, this has risen to 26%.

'Pensions on the long finger'  

Of those without a pension in place, affordability (25%) and putting it on the long finger (19%) were the main reasons cited for not pursuing one yet.

Even for people who have a pension in place, over a third of them (36%) are unsure how they work and more than half lack confidence that the pension they have will give them a good standard of life in retirement.

Furthermore, less than half of people with a pension (46%) review their annual pension statement, which is down from 51% last year.

While pension ownership is lowest among 18- to 24-year-olds, one fifth (21%) of people aged between 45 and 54 reported having no retirement plan in place.

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A reliance on the State pension meanwhile has coincided with a sharp decline in people expecting to have a rental income to support them in retirement, down from 22% in 2022 to 9% this year.

The CCPC said this suggseted a significant shift away from property-based retirement strategies, while highlighting an increased vulnerability among those without private pensions.

Ms Griffin added: “It’s really important to take control of your financial future. Figure out how much you’ll need in retirement and what you can afford to contribute now.”