A national policy on pensions must be developed during the lifetime of the current Government, Minister for Social and Family Affairs Seamus Brennan said today.
Mr Brennan said he found it disturbing that almost half of the State's two million-strong workforce don't have retirement funds, including 85 per cent of hotel and restaurant staff.
The cost to the Exchequer of the social welfare pension system will rise from 4 per cent of GNP now to 14 per cent in 50 years because of Ireland's ageing population.
Mr Brennan told a National Pensions Forum in Dublin that the issue was one of the most important social, economic and political challenges facing the country.
"I believe that over the next few months there is a real political window of opportunity to begin laying the foundations for lasting pension solutions," he told delegates at Dublin Castle.
The Government was giving serious consideration to the need for pensions reform and views it as an inter-generational issue that goes beyond day-to-day politics, he told delegates.
Minister for Finance Brian Cowen recently announced that the State will contribute €2,500 for every €7,500 of SSIA savings if invested in a pension.
Mr Brennan explained: "This will help us capture some of the savings in these accounts and consolidate them into long-term pensions savings, especially for low and middle-income earners."
Today's one-day National Pensions Forum is timed to coincide with National Pensions Action Week, which aims to encourage greater take-up of private pensions in Ireland.
Mr Brennan said the State's social welfare pension was one of the highest in Europe and gives vital security in retirement. He is currently examining a Pensions Board proposal to allow people to defer taking the pension at 65 years and have it increased on an actuarial basis at a later date.
"Empowering older people in the workplace, enabling them to choose to work for longer must be a key part of any response to the ageing challenge and security in later years," he noted.
Mr Brennan also referred to the KiwiSaver initiative introduced in New Zealand. "The scheme makes no mention of the word 'pension' at any time, anywhere. It appears the word pension turns off young people. Perhaps the Kiwis have stolen a march on the rest of us," he said.
PA