Ireland's pensions timebomb

There has been a dramatic shift in the pensions landscape - what does it mean?

The death knell has well and truly sounded for defined benefit schemes. They will die out. The only question is how long that takes

At the start of 2001 there were more than 2,000 defined benefit pension schemes operating in Ireland. Today that figure has plummeted to just 700.

In contrast, there are more than 67,000 defined contribution pension schemes currently in operation here.

It’s evident from these figures that there’s been a dramatic shift in the pensions landscape. The defined benefit pension model, effectively a promise to workers from their employer of a specific level of ...