Pension Fund Statistics
Balance sheet (assets and liabilities) data for pension funds resident in Ireland (ESA 2010 sector S129) consists of financial corporations that principally engage in financial intermediation as a consequence of pooling social risks and providing for income in retirement. In Ireland, a pension fund is an autonomous occupational pension scheme established under trust.
Key Points - Q2 2026
Publication Date: 18 September 2026
- Total assets of the Irish pension fund sector increased by 8.2 per cent in Q2 2026 to stand at €160 billion (Chart 1). This was driven by a continued upward trend in insurance technical reserves1, which grew by 12.1 per cent (€10.8 billion) over the quarter.
- Technical reserves relating to pension entitlements increased by 8.3 per cent on a quarterly basis in Q2 2026 to stand at €145 billion (Chart 2). Defined contribution (DC) pension entitlements2 contributed mainly to this growth, increasing by 13.6 per cent over the quarter.
- Holdings of investment funds stood at 42.3 billion at the end Q2 2026, an increase of 3.1 per cent. The primary issuer country of investment funds was Ireland at 75.2 per cent, while those issued in the Euro Area (excluding Ireland and the UK) hold a 14.2 per cent share.
Summary Charts
Notes
[1] In the pension funds context insurance technical reserves (ITRs) are assets relating to claims on insurance corporations by pension funds (also known as pension fund reserves) while pension entitlement technical reserves are liabilities relating to claims on pension funds by households.
[2] Defined benefit technical reserves include hybrid schemes. Technical reserves are valued on an accounting standard basis. 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.
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