The number of people with private pensions has risen significantly over the past year, but less than half believe they will be able to afford a good standard of living in retirement, new research from the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) suggests.
A report published today reveals that pension ownership has risen by 17 per cent since 2025, with the jump coming in the wake of the introduction of the Government’s MyFutureFund auto-enrolment scheme earlier this year.
However, confidence in retirement outcomes remains low, with just two in five sure their pension will provide a good standard of living in retirement. Only one in three are optimistic that their pension savings will be able to keep pace with inflation.
The research also highlights a significant gender gap in how men and women prepare for and think about retirement.
All told, 24 per cent of women have no retirement arrangements in place, compared with 17 per cent of men. Meanwhile, fewer women than men said they understand pensions. A total of 49 per cent of women told researchers they had an understanding of pensions, compared to 63 per cent of men.
Women are also more downbeat about their future prospects, with 32 per cent lacking confidence in the standard of living they will have in retirement compared to 23 per cent of men.
“Our research shows that consumers avoid reviewing their pension statements and too often are not confident that their pension will allow a good standard of living in retirement,” said the CCPC’s director of financial education and Ireland’s first financial literacy ambassador, Gráinne Griffin. “We are encouraging consumers, particularly women, to review their pension, and remind them that they don’t need to do it alone.”
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She acknowledged that pension statements can be long, complicated and hard to understand and noted that it can be “very easy to just avoid them”.
However, she stressed that consumers do not need to “become an expert”, and can instead “book a short review with a financial planner or a financial adviser to check that your pension arrangements are suitable for both your current budget and your future hopes and dreams”.
The study shows that as has been the case in previous years, almost two-thirds of consumers have never had a one-to-one conversation with a financial adviser about retirement, and among those who did seek advice, just under one-third did so through their employer.
The research also highlights a low level of understanding of pension fees and charges among private pension-holders, with one-quarter reporting limited knowledge and 6 per cent unaware there were any charges associated with their pension at all.
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“Employers also play a powerful role in their employees’ financial wellbeing,” Griffin said. “For those consumers who have sat down with a financial adviser and discussed their retirement plans, our research shows that they’re most likely to have been connected to that financial adviser by their employer. Also, employers that offer to match higher pension contributions make employees much more likely to increase their own level of investment in their pension.”
The chief executive of the National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority (NAERSA), Dermot Griffin, welcomed the jump in numbers of those with a private pension. “This is great news for workers in Ireland and reflects the positive impact since the introduction of MyFutureFund in January 2026,” he said.