Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Dr. Bambrick for her opening statement. I agree with the point she made about reducing the lower age limit from 23 to 16 years. Would she foresee moves in relation to the upper limit of 60 years? Given that pension age is now 66, and who knows where it may go, the upper limit of 60 is slightly questionable. It is important that people can trust this scheme given that more and more people are reliant on their State pension as their sole income on retirement and the struggles that entails. There is no certainty about the rate of the State pension because it is not linked to anything and increases are made at budget time. Does ICTU have concerns about how this scheme will be managed? There will be access to a range of retirement saving investment funds. Pensions are a minefield for a lot of people and the idea of having a number of options to choose from may also cause problems. I accept that there must be options, but we need to make it as easy as possible for people.

Will Dr. Bambrick speak a little more about how the central processing authority will work and what its main challenges will be?

Concerns have been raised about the proposed maximum annual management fee. Capping it is a good idea which should be looked at. ICTU has made a good submission to the committee and it will be very helpful as part of our work. If Dr. Bambrick would like to raise any further matters related to the submission, which makes quite a number of recommendations, I invite her to do so.