Future Facing

We need to do more to encourage workers to save for the future, Joe Creegan, Head of Corporate Life & Pensions at Zurich Life, tells InBUSINESS.

Q: How has 2019 been for your business?

A: This has been a positive year for Zurich’s life assurance business in Ireland in terms of new business growth and our market share. The continuing growth in the number of people in employment has contributed positively as more companies and their employees look to provide for their future in the form of pension provision and protect their families and businesses financially in the event of death or disability.

The combination of a strong economy and Zurich’s strong reputation for outperformance in investment markets has seen a huge increase in companies and individuals choosing Zurich to manage their pension fund and other assets.

In addition we continue to lead the way in terms of innovation with our company pension solution, providing streamlined administration, improved employee engagement and communication.

Q: What are the major challenges facing the sector?

A: The challenges facing Zurich are very much aligned to the challenges faced by other stakeholders in our industry, for example Pension Scheme Trustees and employers who are committed to facilitating employees provide for their own retirement. In particular we have two big challenges. Firstly the number of workers in the private sector with private pensions, in addition to the state pension is only 35% and we need to do more to encourage workers to save for the future. The second challenge, having started retirement savings, is to ensure that we are all saving enough to achieve an adequate income in retirement and the earlier we start making contributions the better chance we have of achieving this outcome. This can only be achieved through increased awareness and providing pension scheme members with relevant and informative communications at the appropriate time in their working life. At Zurich, we pride ourselves on providing market leading member communication to scheme members each year as well as online access to the appropriate tools to plan for an adequate retirement income.

Q: What are the major industry trends?

A: During October the Government approved a large part of the design of a new Automatic Retirement Savings Plan, with the objective of encouraging the significant number of employees who do not currently have supplementary pension coverage to make provision for their retirement. The timeline for implementing this automatic enrollment system is 2022, with an initial contribution from both employer and employee of 1.5% rising to a maximum of 6% each at the beginning of year 10. Further work is being undertaken to examine the design of the State financial incentive to this new Plan.

Q: Can you share any 2020 plans with us?

A: We have a clear objective for 2020 and beyond to bring more clarity to company pensions for both employers and employees. Our focus on online technology will enable us to further build on our new company pension dashboard, making it easier for employees to have a clear oversight of their pension scheme. Our company pension solution will keep things simple for all stakeholders and make Zurich a provider of choice with the introduction of the Automatic Retirement Savings Plan in 2022. Our innovative investment solutions and employee engagement tools are designed to bring pension schemes to life and help employees look forward to a great retirement.