Mr. Declan Lawlor:

There are various figures around the place as to the numbers of people in occupational pension schemes. The most recent one I have seen indicates that somewhere around 65% of workers have some form of occupational pension. Those who do not have one tend, by and large, to be in specific lower-paid sectors.

Regarding integration with occupational pension schemes, these schemes have a bigger problem with people who want to retire earlier because, in some cases, the benefits have to be actuarially reduced. Where people want to retire later, that really should not be an issue for most occupational pension schemes because it means they will be drawing down the benefit at a later stage and for a shorter period. People in defined contribution schemes do not have to make a decision as to whether to buy an annuity or invest in an approved retirement fund for another year or two. From the employee's point of view, it is all good news. From the point of view of the occupational pension scheme, it is really a zero-sum game, other than in the case of early retirement, which is a particular issue.