Ireland’s ‘generous’ State pension will be harder to maintain as the population grows older, according to a leading consultancy.
Mercer has ranked Ireland 14th out of 39 countries in its latest Global Pensions Index, ahead of the likes of the UK and France.
The minimum qualifying age for the state pension was unchanged at 66 in Budget 2021, despite previous plans to move it to 67.
Trust Leader with Mercer in Ireland, Caitriona McGuinness, says the State could face sustainability problems in the future noting “14% of the population are currently over the age of 65, we’re moving to a situation by 2050 where 27% of the population would be in this category so the cost of providing this support to this group of people across the population is going to be a challenge in future and then on the other hand we have low participation rates so not enough people taking part in private pensions savings”.
