Ms Roma Burke:

I thank the committee for the invitation to meet it today. As outlined, the Pensions Council was set up to advise the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection on matters relating to policy on pensions. It was established under section 26B of the Pensions Act 1990 and held its first meeting in 2015. It comprises ten members, made up of six lay members, three officials representing the Departments of Social Protection and Public Expenditure and Reform and the Central Bank, and the Pensions Regulator. The lay members give of their time on a voluntary basis. All members are enthusiastic, experienced, skilled and have a diverse, yet relevant, background in pensions, law, actuarial science, public administration, finance and pension scheme governance.

I was glad to be appointed as a member in 2015 through the public appointments process. Led by the chairman, Mr. Jim Murray, we have worked hard and accomplished a lot since we were established. By way of example, early on we shone a light on approved retirement funds and buy-out bond charges and highlighted the very complex manner in which charges are applied and the wide variety of charging rates. We concluded that consumers can make significant savings if they shop around.

We have made numerous detailed submissions in response to relevant consultations held by the Central Bank, Pensions Authority and interdepartmental pensions reform and taxation group. We have carried out work on auto enrolment and master trusts, considered gender pension issues and presented to a joint committee on pension matters.

As the pensions environment has evolved, so has the council. While we advise the Minister at her request, we are also proactive. We raise and investigate matters that we identify as important and draw them to the Minister’s attention. That is the particular benefit of the lay members. They can bring insights to the council and Minister that may not otherwise be available to departmental officials.

We have three important work streams under way. First, we have commenced a research programme on the interaction of housing and pensions. This will be important if home ownership is less typical at retirement than it is at the moment.

Second, we are considering the gender pensions gap in supplementary pensions. By supplementary pensions, I mean income in retirement over and above the State pension. Our work with the ESRI so far has highlighted that there is a gender pension income gap of 35% and that only 28% of women have private or occupational retirement income compared to 55% of men. We are keen to identify practical solutions to this challenge, and to this end the council recently undertook a public consultation on the topic. I am looking forward to the council’s deliberations on the suggestions received and the recommendations that will come out of it.

Third, based on our earlier work on charges, as well as learnings from the UK, we are also considering whether it would be worthwhile to introduce a cost transparency initiative for pension providers in Ireland and whether this could work on a voluntary or compulsory basis. A simplified system of transparency could help to drive consumer and provider behaviour to the advantage of the consumer.

A significant amount of work has been done by the council. As the committee knows, there are several challenging, relevant and complex projects in progress. Notwithstanding that, the pensions roadmap is at about the halfway point in terms of its timeline. The committee will also be aware that substantial changes were made to the Pensions Act earlier this year as the EU IORP II pensions legislation was transposed. I expect to see the pensions environment react to this legislative change. There is likely to be consolidation of pension schemes and pension products. Some will not survive, while other pension vehicles will play a more prominent role in the future. This change will have a direct impact on consumers.

Our current chairman, Mr. Jim Murray, has done an excellent job stewarding the council. I would like to take this opportunity to thank him for his hard work and dedication over the past six years.

His previous experience as director of consumer affairs has certainly influenced the work of the council in a very positive manner.

The Minister has designated me as the next chairperson. I am an actuary and partner with Lane Clark & Peacock, LCP, and I have more than 20 years’ experience in the pensions industry. I currently lead LCP’s governance practice in Ireland. I was the chairperson of the pensions committee of the Society of Actuaries in Ireland from 2016 to 2018 and a member of the council of the society from 2016 to 2019. In 2020, I co-authored a paper entitled Private Pension Tax Relief: A Paper on the Irish Pensions Taxation Landscape which was referenced in the report produced by the interdepartmental group on pensions reform and taxation. I am a member of the Pensions Commission which was set up to examine sustainability and eligibility issues relating to the State pension. I am an independent non-executive director of Dublin Simon Community and I was chair of its audit and risk committee from 2016 to 2020.

In my role as chair of the council, I intend to successfully conclude and report to the Minister on the current workstreams that are under way. We will also undertake new projects on pensions matters that are important to the Minister, particularly the impact of the amended Pensions Act on the pensions environment. Following in the footsteps of my predecessor, I hope to ensure that where change occurs, it will be to the benefit of consumers. It is important to clarify that this ultimately means financial benefit through encouraging people to save more for retirement, lower costs, greater certainty of benefits at retirement or higher investment returns. There is a significant amount of work for the council to do and, in my role as chairperson, I am looking forward to encouraging council members to raise issues, guiding the discussion, developing reports and, ultimately, influencing the pensions environment so that more people enjoy a decent standard of living in retirement. I am happy to answer any questions members may have.