Mr. Declan Bolger:

It is tricky because there is the issue of how premiums are treated in terms of tax relief versus the State contribution. That results in complications for employees and employers. People could have periods throughout their career where they could be in auto-enrolment and then in occupational pension schemes. That could result in the benefits they will get from them and the taxation of those benefits possibly being different. It could be quite difficult, therefore, for people to plan for what their income after tax will actually be in retirement and what the pattern of that income coming through will be. It introduces complications for employers and employees.

In addition, flexibility is a key part within existing occupational pensions. We often see that people have different earnings throughout their careers and there are times where they can afford to put more into their pension, so the occupational pension scheme allows people to flex up and create bigger pension pots. This is very important for people who start their pensions later. The proposed contributory rates are very sensible for someone who starts auto-enrolment at the age of 23 and works through to retirement, but if someone is coming to this scheme at a later age, he or she would need the flexibility to be able to increase his or her pension contributions. Would Mr. O'Shaughnessy like to add something?