Half of Ireland’s population is not financially prepared for recession and do not have enough savings to cope with the unexpected. And almost 60% of people are worried about having enough money in retirement – this rises to almost 70% among those in the 25 to 34 age group. These were some of the findings in new research from leading pensions and investment company, Hibernian Life & Pensions.

Following a decade of boomtime spending, consumers in Ireland are no longer splashing the cash and only a little over one third of adults would now rather spend for today than save for tomorrow. Instead we’re rapidly becoming a nation of savvy savers focused on having a nest egg for retirement.

The majority of private sector workers - -  over 1 million - have no occupational pension while Irish politicians  and civil servants, have one of the world's best pension schemes.

The Sunday Independent said yesterday that one of many beneficiaries of the generous public sector wage and pension structure is the current Chief Justice, John L Murray. As Chief Justice, he receives an annual salary of €295,915 a year -- which is now greater than that paid to the Taoiseach. On retirement he will also be entitled to a defined benefit pension which will be worth up to 60% of his salary a year and a lump sum of one-and-a-half times his final salary.

However, he is also currently paid a pension for his two stints as Attorney-General. Because that pension is linked to the current pay level for the position, €219,000, he received €69,042 in 2007 from the State as a pension. He also receives a pension entitlement from his time on the European Court of Justice.

It was estimated this weekend it would cost as much as €9.5m to fund his pension if he was in the private sector.

The dash to save for retirement is fuelled by fears about Government funding in retirement and not having enough to fund an adequate standard of living in retirement. Just 6% of people in Ireland and 3% of those aged between 35 and 54 strongly believe that the Government will provide an adequate level of income in retirement. Hibernian says with the state pension in Ireland at just €223.30 per week, investing now for retirement could mean the difference between standing on the breadline or eating in the cake shop. However the Hibernian research also shows that belt tightening and saving is now the order of the day. 45% of adults are regularly setting money aside for use when they retire and this figure rises to almost 60% for those in the 45 to 54 age group.

Hibernian says while the recession may be unavoidable, poverty in retirement is easily avoided through a little advance planning. By investing in a pension now Ireland’s savers are also taking advantage of the significant tax relief on pension contributions. This is particularly relevant for the self-employed who must pay and file their tax returns online by the 17th November.

Speaking about the findings, Mark Reilly, Pensions expert with Hibernian said: “Ireland is forecasted to have over 1.1million old people by 2036. This means that anyone who is in their mid-30’s today, having lived through the boom of the past decade, will be living on the state pension, plus any private pension income, by 2036. The weekly state pension currently stands at just Euro223.30 per week providing a bare bones safety net for Ireland’s grey army. With people now switched on to the need to plan for retirement, the research clearly shows that consumers are making up lost ground despite the financial market turmoil.”

Mark Reilly of Hibernian added, “Despite the global market meltdown, Hibernian’s research also shows that Ireland’s investors are among the shrewdest internationally with almost half of consumers in Ireland seeing the value of investing for the future despite the turmoil in financial markets. 55% of consumers have also said they are now much happier to invest for the future rather than spend for today. Investors in Ireland join their peers in the US and Canada at the top of the table for seeing the value in investing for the long term with Dutch, Polish and Lithuanian investors bringing up the rear guard."

Research was carried out by ESOMAR accredited fieldwork agencies and included a total population of 28,525 people across Aviva’s markets including Ireland. The Irish sample base was 997 respondents.

Hibernian is owned by Aviva plc, the world’s fifth largest insurance group.