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Government “committed to reforming” pension system - Burton

Social Protection Minister Joan Burton today addressed the Irish Association of Pension Funds (IAPF) Investment Conference. This was Minister Burton’s first address at a pensions event since taking up her role as Minister for Social Protection.

In her address, the Minister spoke of balancing risk and reward:

Balancing risk and reward is very difficult and trustees face an onerous task and have a huge responsibility in trying to get this balance right…It is important to remember that pension schemes will still have to address their liabilities, their investment strategies and the risks they take in order to ensure that they are properly funded.

According to the Department of Social Protection:

The Government has introduced reforms in politician’s entitlements to pensions. From this Dáil onwards, no political pensions will be paid to sitting TDs and the payment of pensions to TDs will be restricted so that in future a member can only qualify for a pension at State pension age and upon leaving public life.

The Minister said:

We are committed to reforming the pension system to progressively achieve universal coverage, with particular focus on lower-paid workers, to achieve better risk sharing, and to provide for greater flexibility for those who wish to retire on a phased basis.

Read the full press release here.