This chapter looks at the pension funds sector (S.129) which consists of all financial corporations and quasi-corporations which are principally engaged in financial intermediation as the consequence of the pooling of social risks and needs of the insured persons (social insurance). Pension funds as social insurance schemes provide income in retirement and often benefits for death and disability.
The following data and analysis is taken from the Estimates of Irish Pension Liabilities 2015 which was published in April 2018. This is the most recent published data available for pension liabilities. This Estimates of Irish Pension Liabilities publication will be repeated every three years with the most current data available at the time. Estimates of 2018 Pension Liabilities will be produced in 2021.
| Pension Fund Liabilities (% GDP) | |
| Ireland | 165.998689664251 |
| Latvia | 187.803979366249 |
| Ireland (% GNI*) | 268.234802282117 |
| Belgium | 289.913832782899 |
| Germany | 292.591920318673 |
| Finland | 303.501389965771 |
| Slovenia | 321.06474212794 |
| Netherlands | 359.399456238189 |
| France | 368.808314289457 |
| Austria | 376.205306777371 |
| UK | 393.215341265929 |
Note: Figure 8.1 includes the pension liabilities of schemes managed by government and private occupational schemes. The former are not included in the National Accounts.
Source publication: Estimates of Irish Pension Liabilities 2015
Get the data: Eurostat
Ireland’s total liability at the end of 2015 equates to 166% of GDP (268% of modified GNI). Ireland's total pension liability is low in comparison to other EU countries due to Ireland’s relatively young population.
| Occupational Defined Contribution Schemes | Occupational Defined Benefit Schemes | |
| Opening Balance Sheet 2015 | 28.679011802 | 59.082771801 |
| Closing Balance Sheet 2015 | 32.156713008 | 58.643457782 |
Source publication: Estimates of Irish Pension Liabilities 2015
Get the data: StatBank
The liabilities of Irish pension funds are largely made up of unfunded pension schemes like defined benefit schemes for government employees or social security contributions. In 2015, these government managed pension schemes accounted for €345.5bn of total Irish pension liabilities. These schemes are not a part of the financial sector (S.12).
Liabilities of private pension funds, which are classified in the financial sector, comprised only 21% of the overall liability in 2015. These non-government workplace pension schemes can be broken down into defined contribution and defined benefit schemes. Defined contribution schemes comprised 35% (€32.2bn) of financial sector’s pension funds liabilities, while defined benefit schemes comprised 65% (€58.6bn). The overall liabilities of pension funds shown in the financial sector in 2015 was €90.8bn.
Figure 8.2 shows the total changes in pension liabilities during 2015 classified by types of pension funds. During the year, the value of occupational defined contribution scheme liabilities grew from €28.7bn to €32.2bn, an increase of 12%. This was mainly driven by social contributions and market price changes which are reflected in Figure 8.3.
| Social Contributions | Payment of Pension Benefits | Transfers between Schemes | Negotiated Changes in Scheme Structure | Revaluations | |
| Occupational Defined Contribution Schemes | 2.55359422359663 | -1.05534777 | 0.427032677 | 0 | 1.55242207540337 |
| Occupational Defined Benefit Schemes | 2.274344885 | -2.042419488 | -0.523032677 | -0.148206739 | 0 |
Source publication: Estimates of Irish Pension Liabilities 2015
Figure 8.3 shows the overall changes in the pension entitlements. Flows in the two schemes are mainly driven by social contributions (€4.8bn) and paid benefits (€3.1bn).
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