Elusive quest for a 'gold-plated' pension

The Government's decision to allow high earners tax relief on up to €2.8m in a pension pot has been divisive; the wealthy were delighted, everyone else was not

The traditional definition of a gold-plated pension is a tax-free lump sum of 1.5 times your final salary and a guaranteed pension for life, of half of your final salary. If you die first in retirement, your spouse will get 50 per cent of that.

The recent cabinet decision to allow high earners tax relief on up to €2.8 million in a pension pot was destined to be divisive. For the most part, the delighted were wealthy, while the consternated were not.

 Amongst the latter cohort, were high profile individuals, who both care about the financial fate of low earners and rely on their votes to maintain the high earnings they themselves enjoy.