Pensions time bomb - A deepening crisis we must tackle

Today, when a woman reaches the traditional — if now nominal for so many — retirement age of 65 she can expect to live for another 21 years.

A man who retires at the same age will have to provide an income for himself for another 18 years.

Though it is something to be celebrated, the greater longevity supported by healthier lifestyles, science and improved nutrition raises obvious questions about pension sustainability. Older, deferred-income models, where a pension supported a retired worker for a few years rather than a few decades, are no longer appropriate. Obviously, for those who retire before they reach 65, the post-work segment of their life will be longer and put even greater pressure on pension schemes, public or private. Even before the recession bit Ireland’s workers and employers faced a pension crisis and despite a series of doom-laden reports little enough, if anything at all, has been done to prepare for a well-flagged day of reckoning.