Investing in a pension is the 'best show in town' for mitigating against personal taxation, according to one investment specialist.
Ralph Benson, co-founder and Head of Financial Advice at moneycube.ie, said most current participants in the workforce had to play a more active role in their retirement planning because of the nature of modern pensions schemes.
Where in the past pensions were largely looked after by an employer, with the retiree getting a percentage of final income for life, most workers today pay into 'Defined Contribution' - or DC - schemes where the outcome depends on the investment strategy of the individual.
However, pension contributions come with significant tax benefits.
"We might be a low corporation tax economy but personal taxes are high compared to other countries," Mr Benson explained.
"If you're a 40% taxpayer, it will cost you €60 to land €100 into your pension account. It's very attractive compared to other forms of investing if you're an Irish taxpayer."
As part of Pensions Awareness Week, Moneycube carried out a survey on various aspects of pension planning.
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The survey revealed that most people were unaware of the costs they were paying on the management of their retirement funds.
"Costs vary a great deal. The devil is in the detail," Ralph Benson said, adding that the industry had not been as good as it should have been about making costs clear.
Many current participants in the workforce are not contributing to a pension.
There are plans to address this with the introduction of an auto-enrollment pension scheme next year.
Under this plan, workers will be automatically signed up to a pension with a contribution from the employee, from the employer and a government top up.
