PENSION COVERAGE is falling, with self-employed people experiencing the most dramatic reduction, according to figures published yesterday by the Central Statistics Office.

The figures represent a failure of Government efforts over the period to encourage increased private sector pension coverage. They also come before a series of announcements limiting relief on private pensions both for employees and for the self-employed.

A third of those who had made no private pension provision said the reason was that they could not afford to do so. A fifth said they simply had not got around to it.

The Quarterly National Household Survey of pension provision measures pension coverage in the fourth quarter of 2009 compared with a similar survey in the first quarter of 2008.

It found the number of self-employed workers with a pension fell sharply – from 47 per cent in early 2008 to just 36 per cent towards the end of 2009, the lowest in a series of surveys of pension coverage dating back to 2005.

“In comparison, coverage among employees fell only slightly from 55 per cent to 54 per cent over the same period,” it says.

Overall, 51 per cent of workers between the ages of 20 and 69 had some form of private pension coverage in place at the end of 2009. That was down from 54 per cent in the first quarter of 2008 and a high of 56 per cent in 2005.

By sector, the data show continued blanket pension coverage in the public sector.

At the other extreme, just 17 per cent of workers in the hospitality and food service sectors had some pension savings.

By occupation, three-quarters of professional people were found to have pensions compared to just a quarter of those in sales.

There was a dramatic difference in the levels of cover reported by Irish nationals – 55 per cent – and foreign nationals – 28 per cent.

While half of all workers expected an occupational or personal pension to be their main source of income when they retired, according to a survey at the end of 2005, the figure had fallen to 41 per cent at the end of 2009.

The percentage who expect to rely mostly on the State pension for their retirement income has jumped to over a quarter (26 per cent) in the most recent survey compared to a fifth in late 2005.

Among older workers, those aged between 55 and 69 years, a far higher 44 per cent expected to rely mostly on the State pension in retirement.