New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that awareness of the Government Auto Enrolment Retirement Savings Scheme, which is due to start next September, increased in 2024.
The scheme is aimed at workers aged between 23 and 60 with no occupational pension cover from their current employer.
The CSO said that at an overall level, some 28% of workers were aware of the Government planned scheme, up ten percentage points on the same time in 2023.
Of respondents who will be eligible to be automatically enrolled in the planned Auto Enrolment Retirement Savings, 29% were aware of the planned retirement savings scheme.
Of these, some 78% whose current employer does not offer pension cover, said they would stay in the scheme if automatically enrolled in it.
Today's CSO figures also show that of the people in employment in the third quarter of this year, 67% had pension coverage of some form, outside of the State Pension.
The CSO said that pension coverage remained greatest among workers aged 45 to 54 years at 80%, up three percentage points from the same time last year.
It remained lowest among younger workers with 27% of workers aged 20 to 24 years having some form of pension coverage.
The State Pension was cited as the expected main source of income on retirement for 52% of workers with no pension coverage. 25% had not yet decided how they would fund their retirement, the CSO said.
For workers with occupational pensions from their current employment, the number with "defined benefit" pensions decreased to 26% from 30% in 2023, while the number with "defined contribution" pensions increased to 69% from 66% in 2023.
Just 4% had hybrid pension schemes, which is neither a full defined benefit scheme nor a full defined contribution scheme but has some of the characteristics of each.
Today's figures also show that for those workers with no occupational pension coverage from their current employment, 53% said their employer does not offer a pension scheme, up three percentage points on the same period in 2023.
Of workers with no supplementary pension cover, 43% stated they never got around to organising it or would organise it at a future date. For 48% of workers aged 55 to 69 years, affordability was the main reason given for no pension cover.
