The Small Firms’ Association has said it is against the introduction of a mandatory pension system in a submission to the Department of Social Protection.

It told the working group charged with creating a roadmap for universal pension provision that it is opposed to any move towards a mandatory universal retirement savings system.

The association’s director, Patricia Callan, said the current pension provision needed to be enhanced but her group was not convinced mandatory pension provision was best.

“Mandatory pension provision will prove costly to employees, to business and to the exchequer, without any associated benefits . . . The willingness of both employees and employers to accept compulsory pension savings is seriously questionable.”