Ireland and State Funded Pensions

The public do not elect Governments and pay their taxes only to see a wealthy clique enriched by those elected to serve them. Recent Governments in Ireland would appear to have detached themselves mentally from where Government revenue is actually coming from and what their responsibilities to the electorate actually are.


There should be strict limits to the size of pension fund contributions made by State, Semi State and State Bailed Out Companies. Combined with this, there should be strict limits on the maximum size of pension payable by The State, Semi State and State Bailed Out Companies.

All pensions over and above the basic State provided Contributory Old Age Pension should be contributory and across the board legislation needs to be enacted to have a standard PRSA type contribution across all sectors both Public and Private (a mandatory 6% or 7% of gross salary matched by the employer). The State would also need to put in place a system for seamless transfer or continuation of payments when a person changes job. A novel system could be to put the system under State Agency control and have the fund invest in Irish Government Bonds.

As with the Private Sector, there should be no restrictions on the amount of money a person can pay from their Net Salary (after taxes) into a Private Pension Fund or purchase additional property for rental etc – this should be a standard right of any individual.

However The State should not pay a pension of over €100K per year to anyone – index linked to 2012. Anyone wanting more should simply set aside some of their current salary and invest in a private scheme.

Where individuals qualify for multiple State funded pensions (as we see with our political class) the maximum combined total should not exceed €100K per year. It’s a very simple logic, The State should pay no more than €100K per year to any retired person.

Golden Parachutes on retirement from senior Government appointed positions should also be outlawed – this Government approved practice is bordering on misuse of State funds.