Shane McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Question 129: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of working and non-working men respectively who have personal or occupational pensions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20813/07]

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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Question 151: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of working and non working women respectively who have personal or occupational pensions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20781/07]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 129 and 151 together.

According to CSO statistics for Q2 2007 there are about 2,194,000 in the workforce including 1,255,000 males and 939,000 females. The most recent statistics available in relation to pensions coverage relate to Q4 2005 and suggest that 58.3% of males and 50.6% of females have a supplementary pension. On that basis, we can estimate that there are about 731,000 males and 475,000 females in the workforce covered by a pension with 524,000 and 464,000 respectively without coverage. There are no statistics available in relation to pensions coverage for those who are not in the workforce.

Male workers continue to have a higher coverage rate than their female counterparts. However the gap between males and females reduced from 11% in the first quarter of 2002 to 7.7% in the fourth quarter of 2005. Increased coverage rates were evident across all age categories over the same four year period. Workers in the 35 to 44 age group continued to have the highest pension coverage at just over 65%, followed closely by those aged 45 to 54 at 64.0%. The pension coverage rate for those in employment aged 30 to 65, which increased from 57.8% to 61.8%, in the period in question is still somewhat below the 70% target suggested in the National Pensions Review.