Social Affairs Minister Seamus Brennan says he has asked the Pensions Board to look at how the savings habit created by special savings accounts (SSIAs) can be used to create an attractive pension scheme with widespread appeal.
He also says the issue of mandatory requirements is 'under close examination'.
The Minister was outlining progress so far on a review of the pension system currently being carried out by the Pensions Board. He is due to receive the completed review in October.
Despite the economic boom, almost half the Irish workforce - 900,000 people - have inadequate pension provision.
Mr Brennan said the board had selected five systems which had been selected for assessment in the review, and he was making these public in order to stimulate debate.
The first option is an enhancement of the current voluntary supplementary system, with a tax credit of 42% on employee contributions.
The second is a mandatory supplementary private system, under which employers and workers would each have to contribute a minimum of 5% to a pension scheme.
The third option involves similar mandatory 5% contributions to a state defined contribution system, while a fourth provides for an earnings related system, where workers would receive 1% of annual earnings for each year of contribution. The contribution rate would also be divided equally between workers and employers.
The fifth option is an enhanced basic state pension of 50% of average industrial earnings, compared with the current 34%. The additional cost would be met by 'a separately identifiable charge'.
The Minister was speaking as the Pensions Board published its annual report, which shows only a marginal increase in pensions coverage to 52.4% in the first quarter of 2004. The Government has set a target of 70%.
The Minister has formally proposed to Finance Minister Brian Cowen that state construction contracts should be awarded only to firms who can prove compliance with the mandatory construction pension scheme. The Pensions Board said it was seeking stricter penalties for defaulting employers, including the right to name and shame.
