IRELAND

Pension schemes owe €767bn to members

State has the biggest liability, say statisticians

Figures show Irish pension schemes owed €767.3bn in 2021. 

Barry O'Halloran
Thu Feb 15 2024 -

Irish pension schemes owed more than €767 billion by the end of 2021 to their members, more than three times the size of the economy, official figures show.

According to the State’s Central Statistics Office (CSO), Irish pension schemes had built up total liabilities of €767.3 billion by the end of the 2021.

This was 329 per cent of gross national income, a figure that measures the size of the Republic’s economy but excludes repatriated multi-national profits, State statisticians said.

Social insurance pensions, paid by the State, accounted for €470.7 billion of the total, followed by Government schemes for its own workers at €175.7 billion.

Private schemes funded by contributions from workers made up the balance at €120.9 billion, said the CSO on Thursday.

The total liability had risen €159.5 billion, or 26 per cent, since the previous survey in 2018, with social insurance accounting for the biggest leap, €111.5 billion or 31 per cent.