IAPF Spring 2018 Irish Pensions Magazine

IRISH PENSIONS MAGAZINE | SPRING 2018 | 17 FEATURE Strand 4 - Measures to Support the Operation of Defined Benefit Schemes Strand 5 - Public Service Pensions Strand 6 - Supporting Fuller Working Lives Upon assuming his role as Minister for Social Protection in the summer of 2016, the now Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar TD made clear to officials that pensions reform was a key priority. This commitment was strongly reaffirmed by Minister Regina Doherty TD when assuming responsibilities in the Department of Employment Affairs & Social Protection in June 2017. This political support began a journey which saw the Department manage the drafting process and engage with other Departments and Agencies having a responsibility in the area of pension provision. The work was progressed via a dedicated Cabinet Committee and culminated in the Government’s recent publication of the Roadmap. Reformmeasures were directly influenced by engagement with sectoral interests, including the pensions industry, through a range of fora such as the Pensions Authority’s consultation process on DC reform and simplification. In bringing the Roadmap to fruition, the determination at all times was to deliver a concise and clearly communicated plan, with concrete and time-bound actions, each allocated to a designated owner. The plan acknowledges that the Irish pension system faces significant demographic, adequacy and sustainability challenges. This includes deficits that will emerge in financing the State pension as the population ages. It also highlights the challenges posed by our low level of supplementary private pension coverage. Specifically, some of the key challenges the Roadmap intends to address include; • The financial impact of demographic pressures and increased longevity together with the need to ensure the State pension remains adequate and sustainable in protecting our older people from poverty into the future. • The need to introduce a more logical and transparent system for calculating State pension entitlement where the benefit received will more closely match lifetime contributions made. • The need to reform the current purely voluntary approach to personal retirement saving which, despite generous tax incentives, has not resulted in appropriate