In Quarter 3 2022, pension coverage was greatest among workers aged 45 to 54 years (77%), while it remained lowest among younger workers. Three in ten (31%) workers aged 20 to 24 years had some form of pension coverage.
For employees with occupational pensions from their current employment, more than three in ten (32%) had Defined Benefit pensions, while Defined Contribution pensions accounted for 62% of occupational pensions from current employment.
For those workers with no occupational pension coverage from their current employment, more than half (52%) stated that their employer did not offer a pension scheme.
Of employees with no supplementary pension cover, 40% cited affordability as the main reason, while 47% said they never got around to organising it or would organise it at a future date.
The State Pension was cited as the expected main source of income on retirement for nearly six in ten (57%) workers with no pension coverage, while more than one-quarter (26%) had not yet decided what their main source of income would be.
Of workers eligible for auto enrolment in the planned Government Auto Enrolment Retirement Savings scheme, almost one in five (18%) were aware of the scheme, and of these, almost two thirds (65%) said that they would stay in the scheme if automatically enrolled in it.
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, 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.
Also, while the data collection for this survey was expanded in 2021 to cover persons in current employment and also persons not presently in employment but who had previous employments, who may or may not have been laid off due to COVID-19, this publication focuses primarily on persons in employment. 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 also – the composition of the workforce changing in 2020/2021/2022 due to COVID-19. This may have impacted on calculated pension rates.
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (23 February 2022) published the results of the Pensions Survey which was carried out in Quarter 3 (July to September) of 2022.
Commenting on the report, Maureen Delamere, Statistician in the Social Modules Division, said:
“The results in this publication cover pension provision outside of the State Pension. Of persons in employment in Quarter 3 2022, around two-thirds (66%) had pension coverage of some form (outside of the State Pension), remaining unchanged from 2021.
Pension coverage by age
Pension coverage in 2022 followed the same trend as in 2021, where pension coverage was lowest among younger workers, although supplementary pension coverage has increased for these workers. Three in ten (31%) in the 20 to 24 years age group had pension coverage of some form in 2022, up six percentage points on the same period in 2021. Supplementary pension coverage increases with age, with three quarters (75%) of the oldest age group surveyed, persons aged 55-69 years, having supplementary pension cover. Most supplementary pension cover is with Defined Contribution (62% of pensions) rather than Defined Benefit (32% of pensions).
Over half (51%) of older workers aged 55 to 69 years have been in their current occupational pension scheme for 20 years or more, compared with just over one in fourteen (7%) persons aged between 35 and 44 years.
Pension coverage by broad occupation group/economic sector
Analysis of pension coverage by broad occupational groups shows that workers whose occupation was classified as Professionals had the highest pension coverage rate (82% of persons working in this area), whereas just over four in ten (43%) workers whose broad occupational group was Skilled Trades had pension coverage. The economic sector with the highest pension coverage in Quarter 3 2022 was Public Administration & Defence; Compulsory Social Security (98%) while the lowest coverage was in the Accommodation & Food Service Activities sector (24%).
Reasons given for no supplementary pension
Of employees who had no supplementary pension cover, 40% cited the affordability of pensions as the main reason for not having pension cover, while a further 47% stated that they never got around to organising it (37%) or would organise pension provision at a future date (10%). For workers (including self-employed), the State Pension was cited as the expected main source of income on retirement for nearly six in ten (57%) workers with no pension coverage, while more than one quarter (26%) had not yet decided on this issue.”
Planned Government Auto-Enrolment Scheme
In relation to the planned Government Auto Enrolment Retirement Savings scheme for workers with no occupational pension cover from their current employment, Maureen Delamere further commented: “Of respondents who are eligible to be automatically enrolled in the planned Government Auto Enrolment Retirement Savings scheme for workers with no occupational pension cover from their current employment and aged between 23 and 60 with no occupational cover from their current employment), almost one in five (18%) were aware of the scheme, and of these, almost two thirds (65%) said they would stay in the scheme if automatically enrolled in it.”