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Introduction

Why plan for retirement?

Thanks to advances in medicine we are all living longer and having more active lives both before and, more particularly, after retirement. According to the Central Statistics Office, life expectancy in Ireland for men is now over 75 and for women over 80.

This means that, in the future, retired people will make up a large proportion of the population of Europe. This will put additional strain on the provision of the state pension.

As it is, the State Pension (non-contributory) of €212.00 (personal rate from Jan. 2007), may not be enough for you to comfortably maintain the living standards you enjoyed during your working life. What’s more, there is no guarantee of the level of the State Pension in the future.