Dr Katie O’Farrell, is the Senior Statistician for the Growing Up in Ireland study with the CSO, who recently produced the Growing Up in Ireland release which captured the views of a group of people who were born in 1998 about life in Ireland.
Here she provides a snapshot of what we learned in the Growing up in Ireland Cohort 98 at age 25 Main Results about the financial life and incomes of 25-years-olds in Ireland, their financial stress, savings, and pensions, and their thoughts on topics such as the cost of living.
Some of the aspects that really stood out from our research were how many of our respondents had successfully transitioned from school and higher education to the workforce, and the difference in earnings among those with and without a degree. Just over 85% were in regular employment with a median or mid-point weekly income of €558.
Given the life stage of those surveyed involved, the number of weeks worked did vary significantly, with just over two-thirds holding their primary job for at least 24 weeks in 2022, while just over one-third held that job for at least 50 weeks.
Yes, the amount of weekly income from employment differed by sex and educational qualifications. A gender gap in pay was already starting to emerge among our group of 25-year-olds. We found men earned a median weekly income of €589 and for women it was €525 – a difference of €64 per week.
There was also evidence of significant income inequality already emerging within this group based on their educational attainment. For instance, those with a degree or higher qualification had a median weekly income of €128 more than those without such a qualification (€613 compared with €487). This difference was even greater for women compared with men. For example, women without a degree or higher qualification earned €154 per week less than women with such a qualification, whereas men without a higher qualification earned €79 per week less than men without one.
When we look at all forms of income, it was interesting to note that four out of five (79%) of respondents who were among those in the top 20% of earnings had a degree or equivalent qualification.
While financial situations among our group of 25-year-olds varied considerably, nearly two-thirds said they found it very easy to fairly easy when it came to making ends meet. However, just under one in ten respondents (8.8%) said they made ends meet with difficulty, while just over one in twenty (5.3%) had great difficulty or found it impossible to make ends meet. When we met this same group a few years back at age 20, less than one in ten said they found making ends meet was difficult or of great difficulty.
Respondents were also asked if they had skipped a meal or cut the size of their meal in the past year because they could not afford to buy food. One in four women (24.5%) reported skipping meals due to such financial concerns compared with one in seven men (14.5%). When asked about different social issues, poverty in Ireland had the second highest rate of concern after housing. Just over 94% of this group cited poverty in Ireland as a matter of concern.
Living in or outside the family home had a small effect on the levels of ease or difficulty reported in making ends meet, with 12.8% of those who lived in their parental home reporting they found it difficult to, or were incapable of, making ends meet compared with 17% of those who lived outside the parental home.
Of those still living in the parental home, 62.4% were doing so for mostly financial reasons. Only 12.4% of respondents said that living in the family home had nothing to do with finances, with little difference between men and women.
Looking at savings, we found nearly three-quarters of the respondents reported saving regularly with men (76.9%) saving more regularly compared with women (69.6%).
Again, savings levels were impacted by career and education choices. For example, when you look at those in the top 20% of earners in 2022 surveyed, most respondents (86.5%) said they saved regularly. Of those in the lowest 20% of earners surveyed, two-thirds (66.7%) said they saved regularly.
This is an interesting area as according to the Retirement Planning Council of Ireland, planning for retirement should begin in your 20s. Overall, from our results, 44.3% were contributing towards a pension in 2023 and there was very little distinction between rates of men and women contributing towards a pension.
Notably, the amount earned distinguished between those who were and were not saving for a pension. Of those in the lowest 20% of earners surveyed, around 22% were contributing towards a pension in 2023 compared with around 85% of those in the highest 20% of earners.
| Press Office | (+353) 21 453 5028 |
|---|---|
| pressoffice@cso.ie |
Editor's Note
We hope this article gives you an overview of the wealth of data in the Growing up in Ireland: Cohort ’98 at age 25 Main Results.
This content was published by RTÉ on 26 March 2025 in an article titled Inside the Financial Lives of Ireland's 25 Year Olds
Note: Percentages are rounded to the nearest percentage point.