Significant numbers of people over the age of 50 plan to use their State pension to fund their retirement despite warnings from experts that such payments are not sufficient to meet the financial needs of older people, opinion poll results show.
An Irish Times/TNS mrbi poll of the over-50s shows that two-thirds of people (66 per cent) plan to use their state pension to either fully or partially fund their retirement. Fewer than one-third of respondents (29 per cent) say that they have a private pension.
Figures also suggest that about half of older people who have an SSIA (Special Savings Incentive Account) are planning to spend rather than save it. A total of 37 per cent of older people hold an SSIA, while 19 per cent plan to use it to fund their retirement.
When asked which financial products they hold, the majority of over-50s say a savings account (63 per cent), followed by a State pension (48 per cent), an SSIA (37 per cent), a private pension (29 per cent), stocks and shares (14 per cent) and investment in property (12 per cent).
The state pension is the most popular way of either fully or partially funding their retirement (66 per cent). This is followed by a deposit account (35 per cent), a private pension (32 per cent), an SSIA (19 per cent), investment in property (10 per cent) and stocks and shares (9 per cent).
While the proportion of people with private pension coverage is quite consistent across all the over-50s, those in younger age groups are more likely to have an SSIA or to have invested in stocks or property or to have a savings account.
On the issue of funding their retirement, younger respondents are more likely to say that they will use a private pension. While 40 per cent of the 50-54 age group plan to do this, the percentage falls to 24 among the 65-plus age group. Significant age-based differences also emerge on the issue of families providing financial support in retirement. While 11 per cent of the over-65s say that their family will provide support in their retirement, this falls to 5 per cent among those in the 50-64 age group.