New findings indicate a rise in the number of Irish adults without a retirement plan, reports RTE.
According to research from the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), one in four adults now lack retirement preparations, a notable increase from one in five the previous year.
The CCPC also found that a third of those with pensions regret not starting their contributions earlier, reports RTE.
The lowest pension ownership is among those aged 18 to 24, while 21% of individuals between 45 and 54 have yet to arrange any pension plan—something the CCPC has labelled as concerning.
Among those with pensions, 36% said they don’t fully understand how pensions work. Additionally, only 46% reviewed their annual pension statement, a drop from 51% last year, reports RTE.
The top reasons for not having a pension were financial limitations and procrastination. While 25% said they couldn’t afford it—down from 30% in the previous year—19% admitted they simply hadn’t gotten around to starting one.
Among the 26% of Irish adults with no retirement planning, 61% now anticipate relying on the State Pension to support them later in life. This represents a noticeable rise from 53% in 2024 and 43% in 2023, according to the CCPC.
“This growing dependence on the State Pension is accompanied by a sharp decline in expectations around rental income, which dropped from 22% in 2022 to just 9% in 2025, suggesting a significant shift away from property-based retirement strategies and highlights increased vulnerability among those without private pension arrangements,” the CCPC added, reports RTE.
Grainne Griffin, Director of Communications at the CCPC, commented that the current findings reinforce the concern over Ireland’s pension gap, especially among those nearing retirement age.
“With over a quarter of adults still without any retirement plan in place, and others regretting not starting sooner, the message is clear: it’s never too early, or too late, to take action,” she stressed, reports RTE.
She also pointed out that expectations around retirement are changing. Only 19% now plan to retire at 65, down from 25% in 2024, while 20% of men and 21% of women now expect to work until 70 or older.
“Financial advice continues to be underused, with 66% of those surveyed stating that they have never spoken to a financial advisor about their retirement plans,” she added.
With the auto-enrolment scheme scheduled to launch in January 2026, both employers and employees will need to make key decisions on how to get ready, reports RTE.
Keith Dundon, Head of Financial Services at SYS Financial, urged employers to start planning ahead of the new scheme’s rollout on January 1.
“There’s a pay reference period going to take place where for three months leading up to it employees will be assessed for their eligibility, so although the start date is January 1, they need to be acting now to see what their options are and which is best for their business,” said Mr Dundon, reports RTE.
Mr Dundon added that private pension plans allow for more flexibility, control, and tailored benefits, which can help with attracting and keeping staff.
He noted that employers can streamline costs and administration, while employees benefit from tax reliefs, investment choices, contribution levels, and varied retirement options.
“It’s fantastic that auto enrolment is being brought in, it’s going to improve a lot of individuals’ retirement outcomes,” he said, reports RTE.
“But for employees, from what we’ve seen, a private pension is the best fit for them. First of all, it avails of more tax relief, so they can get up to 40% tax relief in a private pension, whereas auto enrolment is 25%. It doesn’t look like there’ll be any advice in auto enrolment, so outcomes could be poorer with the lack of advice, and then the flexibility and choice with regards to how they access their benefits, how they invest it, and when they take their benefits as well, is a little bit more restricted in auto enrolment versus a private pension,” explained Mr Dundon, reports RTE.
Tell us your thoughts in the Facebook post and share this with your friends.
