Figures from the Central Statistics Office show that pensions coverage has increased only slightly in the last two years, and is still well short of the Government's target of 70%.
In a pensions report released with the Quarterly National Household Survey, the CSO said 52.4% of people in employment were covered by a pension in the first quarter of this year. This was up from 51.2% in the last such survey covering the first quarter of 2002.
The coverage rate for employees increased from 52.8% to 54.4% but cover for the self-employed and those assisting relatives dropped from 44% to 43%.
The CSO survey also found that pensions coverage among the 20-24 age group fell from 25.2% to 23.2%.
The number of people with only a personal pension increased from 5.5% to 6.3%, while the number with only an occupational pension fell from 43.7% to 40.4%. The CSO says the introduction of Personal Retirement Savings Accounts (PRSAs) last year may have influenced how people responded to this question in the survey.
