Determinants of Pension Coverage and Retirement Income Replacement Rates – Evidence from TILDA

Abstract

In Ireland, the absence of statutory earnings-related pensions in the private sector leads to large variations in pension coverage and adequacy. This paper uses recent data from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) to evaluate how the pension system has performed for the current retiree cohort. The levels and compositions of retirees’ incomes, supplementary pension coverage and retirement income replacement rates are examined and compared against Irish government targets. The determinants of supplementary pension coverage and retirement income replacement rates are also examined in a multivariate framework. Flat-rated State welfare pensions imply a high degree of progressivity in the Irish pension system: retirement income replacement rates are inversely related to pre-retirement earnings, particularly for former private sector employees. Sup plementary pensions add an earnings related component which insulates post-retirement incomes of middle-and high-earners to some degree.