Ray McKenna of employee benefits advisers Lockton was more optimistic. He described it as “a very welcome announcement that is long overdue for the one-third of employees that currently have no supplementary income outside of the State pension”.
He did, however, warn that there’s still a lot of work to be done to ensure scheme goes live in 2024. “Critically, the Government will need to press the go-live button when it’s ready, and we would be concerned that, just like other pension decisions such as increasing the retirement age, there may be a reluctance to act.”
Your Questions: My husband is retiring the end of this year. We have been paying into a pension and have received a lump sum, with the remainder invested.
A We put this to Mark Reilly, Pension Propositions Lead at Royal London. He has assumed that you are both in your 60s and are planning to live off your husband’s pension plus any state pensions that you might be entitled to.
Before considering how you might save or invest your lump sum, you can potentially clear off any mortgage, personal loans, or credit card debt you might have.
Massive changes on the way for pensions in this country have prompted a warning that employers need to get good advice before they act.
About 300,000 workers are set to be impacted by a once-in-a-generation change in the way pension schemes are governed.
Raymond McKenna, a partner at consultancy Lockton Employee Benefits, warned: “The move to a master trust is a significant event that will have an impact on employees and their retirement savings.”
He said there is a cost difference of up to 50pc from the different master trust operators in the market.
The survey, which was commissioned by life and pensions company Royal London, sought to gain insight into the barriers surrounding pensions saving in Ireland.
It found that 43pc said they cannot afford to contribute to a retirement plan.
Some 29pc said they plan to start a pension in the future.
One in five said they would rather save money into other savings or investment products. And 17pc said they expected to get the State pension and believed that would be sufficient.
Mark Reilly, Pensions Proposition Lead at Royal London, spoke of the findings,
“The survey highlights affordability as the number one barrier to pension saving for 43% of our respondents who didn’t have a pension. This shows the need for State agencies and providers to address the affordability issue through education and greater engagement. It’s hugely important that rather than simply see a pension contribution as just another outgoing that must be met each month, people realise that this money is to support their income in retirement.
For a couple aged 64 and 60, who are both relatively healthy with no illness or conditions, Royal London says they could expect to pay about €907.35 a month. That assumes neither smoke and that their alcohol consumption is within normal guideline levels, with no history of alcohol abuse.
Age, lifestyle or illness can increase those figures dramatically. For instance, a couple aged 72 and 70, where the older person smokes about 20 cigarettes a day and is in remission for testicular cancer for the past five years, would expect to pay about €1,855.67 a month, according to Royal London.
Irish Independent: Your Questions – Surely 5pc of my salary is enough to be putting into my pension?
It is definitely beneficial to be familiar with your insurance policies so you can be sure that they are still meeting your needs, according to Barry McCutcheon, protection proposition lead at Royal London.
He said everyone’s situation is different, but a simple way of estimating the level of life cover you need can be to look at your family’s expenses and think about how these could be met without your regular income. Whatever financial commitments your family would find difficult to meet is an indication of how much cover you might need.
Sunday Times: Money Q&A: How can I avoid exceeding the standard fund threshold for my pension?
Eoin Hassett, Senior manager at Independent Trustee Company –
“While you are in a fortunate position to be faced with this problem, you are right to be concerned. Pensions are a very tax efficient financial vehicle in light of the tax relief provided on contributions and fund growth but there are several limitations to the state’s support, one of which is the standard fund threshold. This is the maximum that individuals are allowed to amass in their pension fund without having to pay extra tax when they access their benefits. The current limit is €2 million; any amount over that is subject to tax at 40 per cent.”
Businessworld.ie: 41% of Irish will be relying on the state pension as main source of income
More than 4 in 10 adults expect State Pension to fund retirement according to a survey by protection specialist, Royal London.
The survey of 1,000 adults nationwide, commissioned by Royal London and carried out by iReach, also revealed that 74% of people underestimated how much of a pension fund would be needed to provide a modest pension income of €200 per week, with 60% of those between 18 – 24 significantly underestimating this cost.
Royal London asked people to estimate how much of a pension pot they would require to secure a weekly pension of just €200 – 80 per cent of the current contributory State pension.
More than four in 10 respondents said a private pension pot of €100,000 would deliver that income in retirement, with 15 per cent saying they would need just half of that – €50,000.
“In reality, you would need a fund in the region of €300,000 based on current annuity rates,” said Mark Reilly, pensions proposition lead at Royal London. “The survey very clearly reveals that three-quarters of people underestimate how much money they’ll need to fund a decent pension in retirement.”
