Background to the Research

• This briefing paper looks at pension provision among the pre-pensioner population of Northern Ireland.
  

Research Approach

• Analysis of data from the 1999 Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey, using questions funded by the Nuffield Foundation, Department for Social Development and the Social Security Agency.
  

Main Findings

• Only 13% of people under retirement age have given a lot of thought to their finances when they retire. Few (7%) expect to be badly off and most people thought that they would be able to manage.
• One fifth of males in occupational pensions were not sure if the schemes they were in made provision for partners.
• Only 38% of women currently engaged in full time home care have any arrangement in place to give them entitlement in their own right.
• Less than half of the self-employed have personal pensions and those that do, tend to contribute very low amounts.
• Most people believe that the state will provide them with adequate benefits if they have paid their tax and national insurance
• 89% thought that the basic pensions "isn't much for someone who has paid tax and national insurance all their lives".
• The least favoured option for state pension provision is the one closest to current government policy.