Sheila Terry (Fine Gael)

I thank Senator Browne for sharing time. As only a short time is left to me, I will confine my remarks to pensions, particularly the position of members of private occupational pension schemes. Many of those who retired in recent years have found that the pension schemes into which they and their employers paid for many years are underfunded and do not deliver the type of pension to which they aspired or from which they expected to benefit in their old age. The Government is not doing anything, particularly through the Pensions Board, to protect private pensions.

The only people who can safely expect to retire on a good pension are civil servants. Those engaged in the private sector, particularly PAYE workers, pay into pension schemes throughout their working lives. These schemes are being destroyed by the pensions industry. One needs only to turn on one's television or radio any evening to see or hear large numbers of advertisements encouraging people to take out pensions. We do not hear the Pensions Board, the Minister for Finance or any of the Departments involved in maintaining pensions indicating that pensions should be protected. What is being done?

People are paying into pension schemes in the belief that their money is being well spent and protected. This is not the case. Most people, if asked what their pensions will be worth when they retire, would not have a clue. They are placing their money in the hands of the pensions industry which is not protecting it on their behalf. It is time the Government examined the matter.

The pensions industry has finally answered a number of questions I have been putting to it for many years. I asked, for example, how many pension schemes are underfunded. The industry has admitted the number is sizeable. We hear of many companies which have informed their employees that the company's pension fund is not sufficient to deliver the anticipated level of pension. In many cases, the companies which were supposed to protect their employees' investments are asking staff to top up their pensions with exorbitant sums of money. It is now compulsory for many employees to join a pension scheme. While it has always been obligatory for employers to establish a pension scheme, employees should not be obliged to join it.

It is time the Government took action to look after those who have worked for many years by providing a decent standard of living for them in retirement. Instead, we hear the Insurance Federation of Ireland requesting the Minister for Finance to encourage people to put the moneys in their special savings investment accounts into pension funds when they mature in a couple of years. Why should people do this? Why can the Government not encourage them to save their money by providing an incentive under the SSIA scheme? This would not necessarily require the level of returns people receive under the SSIAs. The Government should examine the scheme to find ways to encourage holders of SSIAs to continue to save. People will do so when they know the money they save is secure. It is time we woke up and looked after the many elderly people who have been robbed of their pensions.