With longer life expectancy an adequate pension is vital

Sunday 18 March 2007: The Pensions Board is today urging consumers to ensure they are contributing adequately to their pension on ‘Pensions Adequacy Day’ as part of National Pensions Action Week. The Board is highlighting the good news that life expectancy is greater in Ireland now compared to in previous generations, and therefore it is now more important than ever to ensure that you have adequate pensions provision.

Speaking today, Brendan Kennedy, Chief Executive, Pensions Board, said: “It is not enough simply to start a pension, it is equally important to check your pension annually and ensure that you are contributing adequately. Retirement is likely to be a significant proportion of our lives, because life expectancy is increasing considerably in Ireland. A man retiring at 65 now can expect to live to 85 and a woman retiring at 65 can expect to live to 88.”

Consumers are encouraged to log onto the online pensions calculator on www.pensionsboard.ie to check that they are adequately saving towards their retirement. The calculator allows you to estimate the amount of money, net of tax which you would need to contribute to your pension, by reference to your age and current yearly salary so that you end up with the level of pension you would expect to receive in retirement.

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Media Queries:

Mary Hutch
Head of Information and Training
The Pensions Board
Tel: (01) 6131900

David Malone
Project Manager- National Pensions Action Campaign
The Pensions Board
Tel: (01) 6131900

Jackie Gallagher / Mark Leech Q4 PR Tel: (01) 4751444
087-237 1838
087-9053679

Notes:

About The Pensions Board
The Pensions Board is the statutory body set up to regulate occupational pension schemes and PRSAs and to advise the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, and through him, the Government, on overall pension policy development.

Pension Information
The information Unit at The Pensions Board provides a wide range of pension information booklets free of charge and can be reached at the LoCall number 1890-65-65-65 and on www.pensionsboard.ie.

National Pensions Action Week
This week’s National Pensions Action Week involved an intensive advertising and promotional focus on the key age targets of 25 – 39 and will include on-the-street promotional activity, outdoor, ambient and online advertising, national print advertising, regional and national radio and TV advertising. The Pensions Board advice during Pensions Action Week is to stop putting it off and start your pension now. So talk to your employer, bank, insurance company, building society, or financial advisor about pensions today and check out the online Pension calculator or the SSIA calculators on www.pensionsboard.ie .

Click here to view the Pensions Calculator.