Pension Fund Statistics – Q3 2023
Publication Date: 18 December 2023
Key Points
- Total assets of the Irish pension fund sector declined by 0.4 per cent for Q3 2023 to stand at €127 billion (Chart 1). This marginally reverses the growth observed during 2023, while assets remain down on the series high of €138 billion at end-2021. Pension fund reserves1 continue to grow this quarter by 7.5 percent (€4.7 billion).
- Technical reserves relating to pension entitlements saw a slight decrease in Q3 2023 2 (Chart 2). Defined contribution (DC) technical reserves grew 5.2 percent, as a result of growth in corresponding asset values, whereas defined benefit (DB) technical reserves fell 8.0 per cent, as a result of estimated increases in discount rates. Net worth remains positive at €8.3 billion.
- Irish pension funds held €7.8 billion worth of sovereign debt at Q3 2023. The largest issuer country was France at €2.7 billion (Chart 3), followed by Germany (€1.3 billion), and Ireland (€1.1 billion). Since Q3 2020, bond values held by Irish pension funds have declined 33%. This could be as a result of both transactions and rising bond yields.
Summary Charts
Chart 1: Assets of Irish pension funds
Chart 2: Liabilities of Irish pension funds
Chart 3: Sovereign debt securities by issuer country (Q3 2023)
[1] In the pension fund context pension entitlement technical reserves are liabilities relating to claims on pension funds by households while pension fund reserves are assets relating to claims on insurance corporations by pension funds
[2] Data relating to defined benefit technical reserves and net worth are reported on an annual basis (at year end), values for other quarters are estimated and subject to revision on receipt of latest annual data. Technical reserves are valued on an accounting basis
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