Pension Policy Research Group
The Pension Policy Research Group is based within the School of Business, Trinity College, Dublin. The Group supports and develops research and dialogue about the public and private pension systems.
Members
Peter Connell, Information Services, Trinity College Dublin
Gerard Hughes, Visiting Professor, School of Business Trinity College Dublin
Anthony McCashin, Department of Social Studies, Trinity College Dublin
Jim Stewart, School of Business, Trinity College Dublin
News and Events
February 2013 - Jim Stewart, School of Business and Bridget McNally, NUI Maynooth, "A Note on Pension Fund Charges in Ireland" . PPRG Working Paper No. 5, February 2013.
December 2011 - Jim Stewart, School of Business "The Pension System in Ireland: Current Issues and Reform" . PPRG Working Paper No. 4, December 2011.
25 November 2011 - Publication of “Public and Private Provision of Pensions and the Ideal Pension System for Ireland” by Gerard Hughes and Jim Stewart in Dana M. Muir and John A. Turner (editors), Imagining the Ideal Pension System: International Perspectives. Kalamazoo, Michigan: W. E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
26 May 2011 – Presentation of “Executive Directors’ and Employees’ Pensions: A Level Playing Field?” by Gerard Hughes at ESRI conference “Analysing Pension Policy”.
17 February 2011 - Publication of "Pension Reform and the Party Manifestos” by Gerard Hughes and Jim Stewart
6 August 2010 - Special Seminar on "The Failure of Current Pension Tax Arrangements and Towards Policies Guaranteeing Pensions for All"
Speaker: Professor Teresa Ghilarducci, Bernard and Irene Schwartz Chair of
Economic Policy Analysis and the director of the Schwartz Center for Economic
Policy Analysis at the New School for Social Research, New York.
Venue and Time: Room 2.05, Second Floor, School of Business, Aras an Phiarsaigh, Trinity College Dublin
at 10:30 a.m.
Note: As places are limited please send an email to gehughes@tcd.ie to register
for the seminar.
2 June 2010 - Special Seminar on "KiwiSaver - The First Three Years: Lessons for
Ireland".
Speaker: Professor Susan St John, Business School, University of Auckland, New
Zealand.
Venue and Time: School of Business, Aras an Phiarsaigh, Trinity College Dublin
at 4:00 p.m.
Note: Pre-payment of €30 is required. As places are limited they will be
allocated on a first come first served basis.
11 April 2010 - Publication of "Executive Directors' Pensions 2008" by Gerard Hughes
20 April 2010 - Debate on the Irish pension system involving speakers from TCD Pension Policy Research Group, Tasc and the Irish Association of Pension Funds.
Venue and time: Radisson Blue Hotel, Golden Lane, Dublin 8 at 5:00 p.m. (email Gerry Hughes for
information on how to register).
21 January 2010 - The book Personal Provision of Retirement Income: Meeting the Needs of Older People? edited by Jim Stewart and Gerard Hughes, published by Edward Elgar, was launched by Colm Rapple in association with Tasc – the think tank for action on social change and the School of Business Trinity College Dublin
Current Research
The Group fosters individual research and scholarship by all members of the group and focuses on the following areas:
- Reform of the public and private pension systems
- Equity of the pension system
- Cost and distribution of pension tax reliefs
- The cost and effectiveness of individual pension accounts
- Pensioners’ incomes
- Demographic projections and the sustainability of the pension system
- The interaction between the public and private pension systems
- The effects of increased reliance on private pension provision on income inequality
- Monitoring pension arrangements of ordinary members and executive directors of companies
Contact Us
pconnell@tcd.ie gehughes@tcd.ie amccshin@tcd.ie jstewart@tcd.ie
Publications
Pension Policy Research Group in Association with Tasc
2005 Jim Stewart (editor), For Richer, For Poorer. Dublin: Tasc at New Island.
Contents
Chapter 1 J. Stewart, “Issues in Pension Provision” Chapter 2 J. Stewart, “Incomes of Retired Persons in Ireland” Chapter 3 P. Connell, “Demographic Projections: Diffusing the Time Bomb” Chapter 4 J. Stewart, “Private Sector Pension Provision: Funding, Risk and Costs” Chapter 5 G. Hughes “Pension Tax Reliefs and Equity” Chapter 6 S. Ward, “What Can We Learn from the UK Experience?
2007 Gerard Hughes and Jim Stewart (editors), Choosing Your Future: How to Reform Ireland’s Pension System. Dublin: Tasc at New Island.
Contents
Chapter 1 J. Stewart and G. Hughes, “Introduction and Summary” Chapter 2 P. Connell, “Demographics: What is Known and What is Unknown?” Chapter 3 G. Hughes, “Delivering Pensions: The Performance of Public and Private Providers and the National Pensions Review” Chapter 4 J. Stewart, “The Proposed Special Savings for Retirement Scheme: Some Issues and International Comparisons” Chapter 5 A. McCashin, “Public Social Security Pensions and Private Mandatory Pensions: Mutually Exclusive or Mutually Supportive?” Afterword K. Barrington, “A Business Journalist’s Perspective on Pension Issues”
European Network for Research on Supplementary Pensions
1996 Gerard Hughes and Brian Nolan, “Pension Plans and Labor Market Structure: Evidence from Ireland” in E. Reynaud, L. apRoberts, B. Davies and G. Hughes (editors) with the collaboration of T. Ghilarducci and J. Turner, International Perspectives on Supplementary Pensions. Westport, Connecticut: Quorum Books.
1996 Jim Stewart, “Pension Funds as Shareholders” ” in E. Reynaud, L. apRoberts, B. Davies and G. Hughes (editors) with the collaboration of T. Ghilarducci and J. Turner, International Perspectives on Supplementary Pensions. Westport, Connecticut: Quorum Books.
1999 Gerard Hughes and Jim Stewart, “Increasing Pension Costs and the Complexity of the State’s Role” in G. Hughes and J. Stewart (editors), The Role of the State in Pension Provision: Employer, Regulator, Provider. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
1999 Peter Connell and Jim Stewart, “Demographic Projections and Population Ageing in Ireland” ” in G. Hughes and J. Stewart (editors), The Role of the State in Pension Provision: Employer, Regulator, Provider. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
2000 Gerard Hughes, “Pension Financing, the Substitution Effect and National Savings” in G. Hughes and J. Stewart (editors), Pensions in the European Union: Adapting to Economic and Social Change. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publihsers.
2004 Peter Connell and Jim Stewart, “Income of Retired Persons in Ireland: Some Evidence from Household Budget Surveys” in G. Hughes and J. Stewart (editors), Reforming Pensions in Europe: Evolution of Pension Financing and Sources of Retirement Income. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd.
2004 Gerard Hughes and Adrian Sinfield, “Financing Pensions by Stealth: The Anglo-American Model and the Cost and Distribution of Tax Benefits for Private Pensions” in G. Hughes and J. Stewart (editors), Reforming Pensions in Europe: Evolution of Pension Financing and Sources of Retirement Income. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd.
2009 Gerard Hughes and Jim Stewart, “Conflicting Objectives in Personal Pension Provision and Personal Saving in Ireland” in J. Stewart and G. Hughes (editors), Personal Provision of Retirement Income: Meeting the Needs of Older People? Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd.
http://www.e-elgar.co.uk/bookentry_main.lasso?id=13160
2011 Jim Stewart, “The financial crisis and pension funds in Ireland” in Yves Stevens (editor), Protecting Pension Rights in Times of Economic Turmoil. Antwerp: Intersentia Publishers, Social Europe Series 26.
2011 Gerard Hughes and John Turner, “Pension policy for financial crises: Experience in Ireland, the UK and the US” in Yves Stevens (editor), Protecting Pension Rights in Times of Economic Turmoil. Antwerp: Intersentia Publishers, Social Europe Series 26.
Other Publications on Pensions
2004 Anthony McCashin, Social Security in Ireland. Dublin: Gill & Macmillan.
2008 Gerard Hughes, “The Case for a Universal State Pension: Lessons from New Zealand for Ireland’s Green Paper on Pensions” in B. Reynolds and S. Healy (editors), Making Choices – Choosing Futures: Ireland at a Crossroads. Dublin: CORI Justice.
Submissions
Response of the Tasc/TCD Pension Policy Research Group to the Green Paper on Pensions
www.pensionsgreenpaper.ie/downloads/Tasc_TCD.pdf
Submission to Commission on Taxation by Jim Stewart
www.commissionontaxation.ie/submissions/Colleges/C03%20-%Trinity%20College%20Dublin.pdf
International Links
- European Network for Research on Supplementary Pensions (ENRSP)
The ENRSP is a research network for independent researchers in the field of supplementary pensions
http://www.jura.uni-muenster.de/go/organisation/institute/zivilrecht/aw3/profil/enrsp/why-enrsp.html
- Pension Reforms
Pension Reforms provides links to original articles covering research on pension issues (both public and private provision), taxation, compulsory saving regimes, employment patterns of older workers and decumulation issues.
http://www.pensionreforms.com/index.aspx
- Retirement Policy and Research Centre, New Zealand
New Zealand's ageing population poses many economic challenges. The Retirement Policy and Research Centre is an academically focused centre specialising in the economic issues of demographic change.