The Economic and Social Research Institute is calling for a review of the private pension system to make it fairer and ensure better value for money for the taxpayer.
In a new report on pensions, the ESRI concludes that the State spends far more on private pension holders than it does on people with State pensions, and says this is a serious inequity that should be addressed.
The report points out that the State spends almost as much on tax incentives for private pensions as it does directly on the State pension. These tax breaks for private pensions mainly benefit the better off, the ESRI says.
And despite the incentives, the report notes, based on data from 2000, the vast majority of pensioners in Ireland still depend on the State pension.
Only a third got any income from a private pension and the average amount they got accounted for less than a quarter of their income.
Ireland also spends less on pensions than other EU countries and has the highest percentage of pensioners at risk of poverty.
