High life expectancy makes pensions dear

The continuing improvement in life expectancy is making pensions significantly more expensive, the Pension Board has warned.

Launching the Board's annual report for 2003, chief executive, Ms Anne Maher, said a "dramatic increase is in life expectancy" at age 65 for both sexes has occurred over the last 6 years.

CSO figures show that male life expectancy at age 65 is now 15.4 years and female life expectancy is 18.7 - this reflects an 11 per cent increase for males over the last six years which improvement is more than that experienced over the previous 70 years.

Ms Maher said: "The impact of this increase on pensions, as well as many other areas of life, cannot be exaggerated".

Pension scheme membership rose by two per cent last year, with the number of schemes increasing by five per cent, according to the report.

The Board said it dealt with 7,713 enquiries, a 44 per cent increase on 2002 and launched 95 new investigations.

The Pension Board's chief executive, Ms Anne Maher, described 2003 as a "difficult environment" for pensions but said the system in place in Ireland "has shown itself to be robust during these challenging times".

Commenting on the take-up of Personal Retirement Savings Accounts (PRSAs), Ms Maher said "at this stage there are now 56 products available from a choice of 10 PRSA providers".

She said: "This gives the consumer a wide range of choice and ensures a competitive market."

Ms Maher said sales to date have been "steady" and further initiatives may be considered to encourage these.

At the end of March 2004, 26,899 PRSA contracts had been taken out with total assets of over €60 million.

The Pensions Board encourages members of the public to report firms that have not designated a PRSA provider.

In 2003, 52 "whistleblow" reports were received by the Board and a further 14 have been received to date this year.