We saw it as a mechanism for extending coverage We did not and do not see it as a substitute for proper pension provision There is a massive loss of confidence in funded pension provision, in our regulatory system, and in our governments willingness to honour benefits earned in the P.R.S.I. system. Successive governments now have a record of confiscating pension saving at will and reneging on entitlements earned and paid for If the new universal system is to be run as the industry ran DB and regulated in the same manner it will not enjoy the confidence of workers.

Defined Schemes Active members 31/12/06 1, ,529 31/3/ ,000

703 – no. of DB plans still in existence Ireland, a reduction of 50% 90% - proportion closed to new members 83% - proportion of those choosing DC for new members 40% - 50% - no. of DB plans closed to future accrual 75% - proportion of those choosing DC for future accrual Those pensions with no indexation will lose 50% of value over twenty years

Workers paid €100 million over 20 years to the Pensions Board to protect their pensions. PB suggested that scheme problems arose from a lack of prudence by trustees and under estimation of risk. The is to scapegoat diligent and concensious trustees The PB regulated trustee behaviour and for the most part ignored the overexposure of Irish pension funds to high risk investments. The PB also ignored the performance of DC. Before the crash 66% of Irish pension [DB and DC] assets were in high risk equities as opposed to 25% in UK.

A Pension Board’s consultation document (2013) showed 62,379 members of frozen DC schemes. This indicates a massive loss of confidence in D.C. Doubt workers will allow themselves to be forced into DC unless the following question is honestly examined. Can a funded pension scheme provide a decent pension at a price workers and their employers are willing to pay?

It is seen as ancillary and not a substitute for decent provision The workers and employers who pay into it have some say in what happens their assets Legal constraints to prevent government from confiscating assets A new regulation system is developed that seeks to protect members pensions rather than regulates on outmoded orthodoxy which ignores systemic failure and blames trustees Congress will not support a scheme where the workers take the risk, the provider takes the profit, well pensioned beaurocrats take the decisions and trustees take the blame.