Pension Fund Statistics – Q1 2022
Publication Date: June 24 2022
Key Points
- Total assets of the Irish pension fund sector fell by 4 per cent (€5.4 billion) over Q1-2022 to stand at €131.7 billion. Decreases in investment fund shares (€2.8 billion) and financial derivatives (€1.1 billion) accounted for the majority of asset depreciation. Equities also recorded a €303 million decrease in asset values.
- The vast majority of equity and bond investment funds directly held by Irish pension funds are issued in Ireland and Luxembourg. €10.4 billion of equity fund shares were issued in Ireland, followed by Luxembourg with €957 million. For bond funds, €11 billion were issued in Ireland and €1.8 billion were issued in Luxembourg.[1]
- Irish occupational pension funds had a total membership of 1.42 million at end-2021, an increase of 3% on the previous year. With 80% of active members, defined contribution schemes are the dominant pension fund type in Ireland. The majority of retired members are currently associated with defined benefit pension funds (97%).
[1] Data relates to detailed reporting population covering approximately 80 per cent of assets in the sector
Summary Charts
Chart 1: Total assets of Irish pension funds by instrument type

Chart 2: Irish pension funds’ direct holdings of equity and bond investment funds, by country of issuance – Q1 2022

Notes: Data relates to detailed reporting population covering approximately 80 per cent of assets in the sector.
Chart 3: Membership breakdown for 2021
Further Information
Explanatory Notes - Pension Fund Statistics | pdf 281 KB
Pension Fund Statistics | xls 31 KB