The purpose of the annual Pensions Survey is to provide reliable annual estimates of supplementary pension coverage (outside of the State Pension) in the State.
The survey does not measure pensions provided through the State Social Welfare Scheme and instead relates to occupational and personal pension cover (supplementary pension coverage) only.
The survey meets national demands for annual estimates of overall supplementary pension coverage and pension types. It produces figures on supplementary pension coverage broken down by sex, age group, nationality, ILO employment status, hours of work (full time/part time), NACE economic sector and broad occupational group. It also provides information on the following:
The survey is carried out on an annual basis in the third quarter of the year, using the Labour Force Survey (LFS) survey instrument. The first iteration of this annual data collection on pension coverage in the State commenced in Quarter 3 2018.
The survey is carried out using the LFS survey instrument in the third quarter of the year.
Mixed mode data collection is used for the LFS, that is, a mix of face-to-face and phone interviews. Information is collected from each sample household over five successive quarters or waves. The first interview in the LFS is face-to-face by an interviewer using Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI). If the householders agree, then Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI), from a dedicated call centre, is used for the four follow-up interviews. Otherwise, the follow-up interviews are conducted using face-to-face interviews.
Users should note that the CSO had to suspend direct face-to-face interviews for the LFS (and other household surveys) due to the social distancing measures introduced in Ireland because of COVID-19. CSO Household Survey Interviewers returned to face-to-face interviewing of some respondents during the second half of 2021, and LFS data is currently collected by a combination of telephone and face-to-face interviewing.
In Quarter 3 2022, the Pensions Survey was carried out in waves 1,2,4 and 5 of the LFS survey.
In 2022, the Pensions Survey was carried out using the LFS survey instrument. Full details of the LFS survey design are available in the Methodology of the LFS.
In the LFS, households are asked to take part in the survey for 5 consecutive quarters (5 waves). In Quarter 3 2022, the Pensions Survey was asked of respondents in waves 1,2,4 and 5 of the LFS.
The number of valid responding households for the LFS in Q3 2022 was 12,284. The Pensions Survey now includes (since 2021) not only persons in current employment (ILO labour force classification), but also persons who were not in current employment (ILO) but did have previous employments. The survey is asked of one person per household. The achieved overall sample was 6,809, and of this, 4,987 persons in employment aged 20 to 69 years. See Table 9.1 for a detailed breakdown of the achieved sample:
A copy of the Labour Force Survey Q3 2022 questionnaire is available on the CSO website at Labour Force Survey Q3 2022 Questionnaire (PDF 5,355KB)
The Pensions survey was carried out in the three months from July to September (Quarter 3) in 2022.
The questionnaire asked questions about supplementary pension coverage provisions of persons aged 20 to 69 years, who were in current employment, or not in current employment but did have previous employments.
The Pensions survey data was collected directly from private households. Institutional households, (e.g. nursing homes, barracks, boarding schools, hotels etc.) were not covered by the survey. A household was defined as a single person or group of people who usually reside together in the same accommodation and who share the same catering arrangements. The household members were not necessarily related by blood or marriage.
A person is defined as a "Usual Resident" of a private household if he or she:
(i) Lives regularly at the dwelling in question, and
(ii) Shares the main living accommodation (i.e. kitchen, living room or bathroom) with the other members of the household.
One person from each household selected was randomly chosen to participate in the Pensions Survey. Information was collected directly from respondents and proxy responses from other members of the household were not accepted.
With the introduction of the annual Pensions Survey in 2018, the survey was expanded to include occupational pension coverage from previous employments (also for self-employed persons1) and personal pensions where payments have been deferred or are in current draw-down mode. Prior to this, supplementary pension coverage covered only occupational pensions from one's current employment and personal pensions in current contribution.
1 Self-employed persons who are incorporated self-employed i.e., working for their own company, can have an occupational pension. If their only current employment/source of income is as a self-employed individual i.e., not an employee they could only access an RAC or PRSA and not an occupational pension scheme, or they could have previously contributed to an occupational pension scheme during a period as an employee.
Prior to 2021, data was collected only for persons in employment (ILO labour force classification) aged 20 to 69 years. In 2021, the data collection was expanded to also include persons who were not in current employment but had previous employments, and this expanded survey model was used for the 2022 survey also.
The survey results were weighted to agree with population estimates broken down by age group, sex and region and were also calibrated to nationality totals. The design weights are computed as the inverse of the selection probability of the unit. The purpose of design weights is to eliminate the bias induced by unequal selection probabilities.
These design weights were then adjusted for non-response. This eliminated the bias introduced by discrepancies caused by non-response, particularly critical when the non-responding households are different from the responding ones in respect to some survey variables as this may create substantial bias in the estimates. Design weights are adjusted for non-response by dividing the design weights of each responding unit in the final/achieved sample by the (weighted) response probability of the corresponding group or strata.
To obtain the final weights for the results, after the previous steps were carried out, the distribution of households by deprivation, NUTS3 region, sex and age was calibrated to the population of households in Quarter 3. The CALMAR2-macro, developed by INSEE, was used for this purpose.
Users should note that in 2022, the mode of data collection for this survey had largely returned to the mixed-mode data collection model where both CAPI (Computer Assisted Personal (face-to-face) Interviewing) and CATI (Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing) are used. The data collection model for the 2020 and 2021 survey was primarily CATI. All interviews had to be carried out by telephone as the CSO had to suspend direct face-to-face interviews for household surveys due to the social distancing measures because of COVID-19. Users should note that there does seem to be modal effects in the data between 2020/2021/2022 as a result of this change in data collection mode between years. A change in the survey delivery mode can introduce a mode effect on the results whereby the method of administration of the questionnaire can impact responses.
While the data collection for this survey covers persons in current employment and also persons not presently in employment but who had previous employments, including those who may or may not have been laid off due to COVID, this publication focusses primarily on persons in employment (ILO). As for CSO Earnings and Labour Costs publications during the pandemic, it is likely there are compositional effects in the data between 2020, 2021 and 2022 – the composition of the workforce changing in 2020/2021/2022 due to COVID-19. Users should note that this may have impacted on calculated pension rates.
The CSO published a technical note for users on the implications of the COVID-19 crisis on the Earnings and Labour Costs release, to accompany this release and is available here Technical Note – Impact of COVID-19 on the Earnings and Labour Costs release - updated Quarter 2 2022.
As detailed in this technical note, the composition of the labour market had changed during this time. There were fewer employments in certain sectors and a significant number of employments being supported by TWSS and EWSS. Across and within economic sectors the impact of the COVID-19 crisis was experienced differently, creating a compositional effect in the survey results.
In the same way, the impact of COVID-19 on certain sectors and the composition of the labour market within these sectors have likely caused composition effects on the Pensions Survey data between 2020/2021/2022, and this needs to be taken into account when comparing results between years.
Up to and including Q1 2006 the annual population estimates were calculated using the defacto definition of population (i.e. all persons present in the state). Since Q2 2006 a new concept of usual residence has been used, i.e. all persons usually resident and present in the state plus absent persons who are usually resident in Ireland but are temporarily away from home and outside the state.
All estimates based on sample surveys are subject to error, some of which is measurable. Where an estimate is statistically significantly different from another estimate it means that we can be 95% confident that differences between those two estimates are not due to sampling error.
Estimates for number of persons, where there are less than 30 persons in a cell, are too small to be considered reliable. These estimates are presented with an asterisk (*) in the relevant tables.
Where there are 30-49 persons in a cell, estimates are considered to have a wider margin of error and should be treated with caution. These cells are presented with parentheses [ ].
The sum of row or column percentages in the tables in this report may not add to 100.0% due to rounding. Percentage breakdowns exclude cases where the interviewee did not respond.
Through the State Social Welfare system, most people are entitled to a basic flat rate pension. See the note on 'State Pensions' below. However, in many cases, there is a need for additional pension cover if the standard of living enjoyed while at work is to be maintained into retirement. This additional or supplementary coverage is provided through occupational pension schemes and/or personal pension arrangements. It is this additional cover which is the focus of this survey. The survey results presented in this statistical release do not cover pensions paid through the State Social Welfare system.
The State provides for two types of pensions: State Pension (Contributory) and State Pension (Non-Contributory).
The State Pension (Contributory) is payable at age 66 to people who have enough social insurance contributions and is not means-tested.
The means-tested State Pension (Non-Contributory) is a payment for people aged 66 and over who do not qualify for a State Pension (Contributory) or who only qualify for a reduced contributory pension based on their PRSI contribution record.
In November 2020, the Government established the independent Commission on Pensions to examine the sustainability of the State Pension system and the Social Insurance Fund. The Commission completed its work and published its report in October 2021. In September 2022 the Government announced its response to the Commission on Pensions. This includes maintaining the State Pension age at 66 and introducing a new flexible pension age model whereby, from January 2024, people will have the option to defer drawing down State Pension (Contributory) up until the age of 70 and in return receive an actuarially based increase in their pension payment.
Occupational pension schemes, also known as company pension plans, refer to employer-sponsored occupational pension schemes or relevant public sector scheme. Company pension plans of this nature are generally funded by both the employer and the employee through contributions based on a percentage of an employee’s gross salary.
An occupational pension scheme will be either a Defined Benefit, Defined Contribution or Hybrid Pension Scheme.
In a Defined Benefit scheme, the pension paid on retirement is related to the number of years of employed service and on the employee’s earnings at retirement or in the years immediately preceding retirement or on career earnings (as in the case of Career-average Defined Benefit schemes). Career-average Defined Benefit schemes are a variation of the traditional Defined Benefit design. The level of pension at retirement is based, not on the earnings close to retirement, but rather on the average earnings throughout the member's entire career.
In a Defined Contribution scheme, pension contributions by the employee and employer are put into a fund, the value of which changes over time. The pension payable is based on the value of contributions in the fund at retirement age.
A Hybrid pension scheme is one which is neither a full Defined Benefit scheme nor a full Defined Contribution scheme but has some of the characteristics of each.
The corresponding question asked on the Pensions Survey questionnaire on Defined Benefit/Defined Contribution pension schemes was as follows:
Is your pension more like Type A or Type B?
Type A: A Defined Benefit pension, where the pension you will receive is calculated based on your number of years' service and your earnings at or near retirement, or your average earnings over your time working for your employer. When you retire, you usually receive a regular income, arranged by the pension scheme.
Type B: A Defined Contribution pension, where your pension will depend on the size of your individual pension 'pot', which depends on the contributions you and your employer make, and how much the pot grows through investment. At retirement, you can choose what to do with the money, such as buying a regular income called an annuity, or investing the money in a retirement fund and making withdrawals over time.
There are two forms of personal pension plans, a Personal Retirement Savings Account (PRSA) and a Retirement Annuity Contract (RAC).
Personal Retirement Savings Account (PRSA):
A Personal Retirement Savings Account (PRSA) is a personal pension plan available to both self-employed and employed individuals who may or may not have an occupational scheme and is taken out with an authorised PRSA provider. PRSAs are a type of Defined Contribution scheme. PRSAs are available regardless of one's job or employment status.
On retirement, a PRSA provides retirement benefits based on the amount of contributions paid and the investment returns earned on those contributions. It is normally paid for by one's personal contributions, although employers can pay contributions also.
If an employer does not provide access to an occupational pension scheme or if certain restrictions apply to accessing the scheme, they must ensure that employees at least have access to a standard PRSA.
Retirement Annuity Contract (RAC):
A Retirement Annuity Contract (RAC) is a particular type of insurance contract obtained directly from life assurance companies and through financial advisers. They are approved by Revenue to allow tax relief on contributions made by an individual. An RAC provides a tax-free lump sum, within certain limits, and a pension or other benefits at retirement. The value of the ultimate benefits payable from the contract depends on the amount of contributions paid and the investment return achieved.
The Programme for Government: Our Shared Future of June 2020 contains a commitment to introduce a pension automatic enrolment system. The objective is to address the low proportion of employees in Ireland with supplementary pension cover. Automatic Enrolment is expected to see a transition from the current voluntary supplementary pension system to one which will automatically enrol employees, subject to certain parameters, into a quality-assured retirement savings system, with some freedom to opt-out.
In March 2022 the Government approved the final design principles for the Auto Enrolment (AE) retirement savings system. The Government’s decision provides for the enrolments of the first participants in 2024 on the following basis:
The Pensions Authority (formerly known as the Pensions Board) provides for the proper administration of pension schemes and the protection of pension rights for people living in Ireland. The Authority is the regulatory body for occupational pension schemes and Personal Retirement Savings Accounts (PRSAs) and also has a role in the development of pension policy in general. Under the Social Welfare and Pensions (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2013, the Pensions Board was renamed the Pensions Authority and its Chief Executive became the Pensions Regulator. These changes took effect from 7 March 2014.
ILO Labour Force Classification
The primary classification used for the LFS results is the ILO (International Labour Office) labour force classification. Labour Force Survey data on this basis have been published since 1988. The ILO classification distinguishes the following main subgroups of the population aged 15 or over:
In Employment: Persons who worked in the week before the survey for one hour or more for payment or profit, including work on the family farm or business and all persons who had a job but were not at work because of illness, holidays etc. in the week. It should be noted that as per Eurostat’s operational implementation, the upper age limit for classifying a person as employed is 89 years.
Unemployed: Persons who, in the week before the survey, were without work and available for work within the next two weeks, and had taken specific steps, in the preceding four weeks, to find work. It should be noted that as per Eurostat’s operational implementation, the upper age limit for classifying a person as unemployed is 74 years.
Inactive Population (not in labour force): All other persons.
The labour force comprises persons employed plus unemployed and based on Eurostat’s operational implementation is limited to those aged 15-89 years.
Respondents to the LFS are asked the industrial sector of their main employment and any proxy responses. Where a respondent doesn’t know the industrial sector, CSO uses administrative data sources where available to complete this data field.
The LFS sectoral employment figures are based on the EU NACE Rev. 2 (Nomenclature généraledes activités économiques dans les Communauté européenne) classification as defined in Council Regulation (EC) no 1893/2006.
The CSO was obliged to report occupational coding data to Eurostat based on the new classification ISCO-08 from Q1 2011 onwards, because of changes to the EU regulations on the Quarterly Labour Force Survey, which is implemented in Ireland using the LFS, (formerly the QNHS). The CSO changed to UKSOC2010 as the primary classification for occupations, from which ISCO-08 is then derived.
The previously used classification for publication purposes in Ireland was UK SOC1990 and this cannot be directly compared to the new UK SOC2010 classification as all occupations have been reclassified accordingly. One particular example which highlighted this change was the reclassifying of farmers from the major occupation grouping of ‘Managers and administrators’ in SOC1990 to the major occupation grouping of ‘Skilled trades’ in SOC2010.
Results for occupations coded to the new SOC2010 classification have now been recoded for historical quarters back to Q1 2007 to provide a longer and consistent time series for users.
Further information regarding SOC2010 is available at this link SOC2010.
The Central Statistics Office wishes to thank the participating households for their co-operation in agreeing to take part in the survey and for facilitating the collection of the relevant data.
Learn about our data and confidentiality safeguards, and the steps we take to produce statistics that can be trusted by all.