Total assets of the Irish pension-fund sector fell by 9.3% (€12.3 billion) over Q2 2022 to stand at €119.5 billion, new Central Bank data show.

Decreases in investment-fund shares (€5.6 billion) and pension-fund reserves (€5.1 billion) accounted for the majority of the fall.

Technical reserves relating to pension entitlements of Irish pension funds also decreased in Q2.

Defined-contribution technical reserves fell as a result of falls in corresponding assets. 

Estimated defined-benefit technical reserves fell predominantly due to increases in discount rates. 

Sector net-worth improvements

The reduction in liabilities exceeded the fall in assets, continuing the recent trend of improvements in sector net worth.

The main asset types of Irish pension funds have experienced negative price changes for consecutive quarters.

While these percentage decreases were similar in magnitude to Q1 2020 for most asset types, debt securities had fallen by a greater amount, the Central Bank said.

European Central Bank (ECB) regulations mandate statistical reporting for pension funds in Ireland, setting out information on assets, liabilities and member numbers

Detailed reporting

Under the regulation, at least 75% of total assets of pension funds resident in Ireland must be captured in detailed quarterly and annual reporting, with at least 95% captured in reduced annual reporting.

The bank’s pension-fund statistics combine data on the different pension schemes in Ireland into one harmonised set of statistics.