Pensions Board Calls on Employers and Employees to Engage with Pensions during Pensions in the Workplace Day
Wednesday 30 April 2008: “All employers and employees are being encouraged to discuss pension options in the workplace tomorrow, during Pensions in the Workplace Day.” according to Mr. Brendan Kennedy, Chief Executive of The Pensions Board speaking at the launch by the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Mr. Martin Cullen TD, of Pensions in the Workplace Day, the first day of the National Pensions Action Week 1- 7 May, at Government Buildings.
Mr. Kennedy urged employees to think about the benefits of planning for retirement, the security it provides and the tax relief available on pension contributions. Mr. Kennedy recommended that workers talk to their employers, who are legally obliged to provide them with access to a pension.
However Mr. Kennedy also pointed out that there is an onus on employees to engage with the process. “Recent independent consumer market research carried out on behalf of the Board shows that of the 52% of respondents who claimed not to have been offered access to a pension, a considerable 96% admitted they had not enquired about a pension from their employer. The Board is encouraging employees to be more proactive and to view their workplace as the best place for pension information and discussion. It is a two-way relationship that, where cultivated, will lead to greater pension uptake in the workplace.”
The Great Place to Work® Institute of Ireland are supporting The Pensions Board as part of their drive to position pensions as a key element of what helps make a great place to work. They were represented at today’s launch by their managing director Cathal Divilly, who explained: “The Great Place to Work Institute is dedicated to helping organisations understand and practice the qualities and behaviours that lead to the creation of great workplaces. A key part of getting that right is a positive approach to the recruitment, retention and rewarding of staff. Companies need to realise that pensions play an important role within that approach. ’
Mr. Kennedy concluded by welcoming the ongoing support of employer organisations, trade unions, the pensions industry and State agencies in highlighting the importance of good pension provision throughout the year but particularly during National Pensions Action Week. From 1-7 May The Pensions Board will be using a multi-media approach to target the key employment sectors with persistently low pension coverage namely the hospitality, retail and agricultural sectors.
National Pensions Action Week 2008 will have the following areas of focus each day:
- Thursday 1 May – Pensions in the Workplace Day
- Friday 2 May – Women and Pensions Day
- Saturday 3 May – Young People and Pensions
- Sunday 4 May – Adequacy Day
- Monday 5 May – International Workers and Pensions Day
- Tuesday 6 May – Pensions Sign-up Day
- Wednesday 7 May – Hospitality Day
“The Pensions Board’s advice during National Pensions Action Week is to stop putting it off and start your pension. So talk to your employer or trade union, pick up the phone to a provider, talk to a parent or friend about pensions and check out the online Pension calculator on www.pensionsboard.ie ,” Mr. Kennedy said.
– ENDS –
Media Queries:
David Malone
Head of Information Services
The Pensions Board
Tel: (01) 6131900
Maura Howe
Project Manager- National Pensions Action Campaign
The Pensions Board
Tel: (01) 6131900
Jackie Gallagher / Glen McGahern
Q4 PR
Tel: (01) 4751444 / 087 – 237 1838/ 086 – 1940057
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 our online Pensions Calculator which can be accessed on www.pensionsboard.ie for the booklets the LoCall number is 1890-65-65-65.
National Pensions Action Week 2008: Thursday 1 – Wednesday 7 May 2008.
Each day will be themed as follows;
Thursday 1 May Pensions in the Workplace Day
The first day is aimed at emphasising the workplace as an ideal location for the promotion of pensions. We are encouraging employers and organisations to hold a pension information event in the workplace.
Friday 2 May Women and Pensions Day
In conjunction with RTE’s Karina Buckley the National Pensions Action Campaign will be promoting the importance for women of ‘forecasting for their future’ from an early age. In addition to this we will be running competitions across the country for a group of four friends to attend the soon to be released movie ‘Sex and the City’ at their local cinema followed by evening dinner. The message to consumers being – enjoy your current lifestyle but also remember to put some money aside to enjoy your lifestyle in retirement.
Saturday 3 May Young Pensioners Day
The Pensions Board will host a major competition for young people to win festival tickets over the weekend schedule on 2FM. The emphasis will be to drive traffic to the pension calculator and podcast on the website.
Sunday 4 May Pension Adequacy Day
The Pensions Board will launch the new Advanced Pensions Calculator which allows details of employer’s contributions to be added. The primary focus will be to promote pension adequacy through media coverage in the press and radio on this day.
Monday 5 May International Workers’ Pension Day
The Pensions Board will be promoting pensions to international workers through partnerships with relevant target media and FAS.
Tuesday 6 May National Pensions Sign Up Day
We are calling on providers to place a major emphasis on awareness, understanding and uptake of pensions on this day, targeting in particular potential customers that have been “putting off” starting a pension.
Wednesday 7 May Hospitality Day
The National Pensions Action Week will come to a close with an emphasis on the hospitality sector, which has the lowest pension coverage of all industries. We will work with Fáilte Ireland and the industry to support the promotion of pensions to staff in hotels, bars, cafés, restaurants, leisure centers etc nationwide.
Pensions Board web-site resource
There is a dedicated section of The Pensions Board web-site for the National Pensions Action Campaign, which provides a variety of materials for the promotion of the week in offices, places of work, centers of information throughout the country etc. These resources will include:
- The updated Pension Checklist
- Posters
- Flyers
- The Pensions Calculator and Savings Calculator
- General article and presentation on pensions from which you can edit news items for your newsletters or website
The above can be easily downloaded, printed off or posted on relevant websites. For hard copies of the Pensions Checklist please contact the Information Unit directly on info@pensionsboard.ie.
Key Target Sectors
Sectors & demographics where pension awareness and action is low:
- Hospitality – lowest level of pension coverage of all sectors and highest level of respondents who admitted to having limited knowledge of pensions.
- Retail – second lowest level of pension coverage and second highest level of respondents admitting to not knowing about pensions in retirement.
- Farming – third lowest pension coverage among employees and lowest personal pension coverage among self-employed.
- Women – have lower pension coverage than men at 50.6% in comparison to 58.3%; the gap has been tightening since 2002, but continuous promotion is still required particularly given the nature of their work and fragmented career paths.
- Population aged 25 – 35 years old – a key target for the Pensions Board, as it is critical that workers start their pension early in their working life in order to ensure they have adequate provision for their retirement.
- Young People / Graduates – it is important that the pension message reaches people before they start their first job so as to encourage behavioural change towards spending.
- International Workers – A high percentage of the migrant workers do not have a pension.
(CSO Quarterly National Household Survey 2006 figures)