Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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I understand what the Minister said in terms of the shock to individuals because of the drastic increase. The effect of this amendment will also be of benefit to the Exchequer because by pushing more money into ARFs it becomes applicable to the imputed distribution charge. This means those affected must pay tax on a certain proportion of it and therefore it will be of benefit to the Revenue as well. I am concerned about the prudence aspect of it. We have to encourage people to save for their pensions. The level for the the next three years is rather low.

The Minister said this would require additional legislation to bring it back to the original levels. Unless it is very clear that this is a temporary measure which will automatically revert to the existing levels, a person would be in exactly the same position today as in three years time. The minimum retirement fund at €63,500, which is not much of a minimum retirement fund, sends a very bad signal, given that future pensions are an issue. The Minister is in receipt of recommendations from individuals who have a modest ability to save for their pensions. I ask for the data showing how this is affecting this cohort rather than just a few recommendations sent to the Department.