Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)
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Question 114: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if he has completed his consideration of the recent report he received from the Pensions Board, entitled, Special Savings for Retirement Report on Mandatory Pension System; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37605/06]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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The Pensions Board in its report on the National Pensions Review, published in January 2006, suggested, amongst other things, a continuation of the existing system of voluntary supplementary pensions provision with improved incentives for participation.

However, no truly voluntary pensions system has delivered the level of coverage rates for which we are aiming, and if we are to achieve our overall targets we may have to consider a more radical approach. I therefore asked the Pensions Board to explore in more detail the ideas for a mandatory or quasi-mandatory system it put forward in its report on the National Pensions Review.

I published this second report, with the consent of the Government, on the 8th August. The report is a technical examination of the practical issues associated with a supplementary pension system. The Pensions Board has not recommended a mandatory supplementary pensions system. It has, instead, examined several options and concluded by giving an outline of what such an arrangement could look like, if a mandatory approach was agreed to be the way forward.

The model put forward for consideration by the Board is aimed at low to middle earners which entails mandatory contributions of 15%, shared between employers, employees and the Exchequer, on earnings between €15,000 and €60,000. This would be backed up by an improved social welfare pension, which would increase from a current level of 33% of Gross Average Industrial Earnings to 40%. A timescale of 10 years was suggested for full implementation.

The two reports produced by the Pensions Board over the last year require serious debate and analysis before we decide finally on the type of retirement we want for our older people and the contribution we will make during our working lives to that future.

In this regard, pensions featured very strongly in the negotiations for Towards 2016 and the final agreement features a number of commitments in this area. As part of the agreement the Government is committed to publishing a Green Paper on pensions outlining the major policy choices, the challenges in this area and the views of the social partners.

I expect to publish this by the end of March next year, and there will then be a consultation process. The Government are committed to responding to the consultations on foot of the paper's publication by developing a framework for comprehensively addressing the pensions agenda over the long-term. The two reports completed by the Pensions Board — The National Pensions Review and their report on mandatory pensions, Special Savings for Retirement — are to be major inputs to the Green Paper.