What was initially introduced as a temporary measure to help boost job creation has evolved into a much more long term means to extract money from individuals. Having read a piece this morning from Carl Widger ( Metis Life) a few things really struck me from the article. Yes it is a complete disgrace that the government told a blatant lie about the Pension Levy being a temporary measure and secondly what exactly have we done to object about it?.

Imagine the uproar and unrest if the government decided to increase the income taxation levels as say a temporary measure and next thing you know they are being increased again and what was once a temporary change is now a permanent fixture. Let alone the fact that the government have told a lie but they are also looking to extract money from an area of the economy that is on the brink of crisis? Does this make sense?. We have a big enough problem as it is encouraging people to set aside money for retirement and now we feel the need to discourage them even more.

To look at it in a more factual manner the levy on private pensions costs savers an average of €2500 a year. Lets put that into perspective and compare it to the what we have witnessed in relation to property tax and the most recent residential water charges. I think this was best summed up by Samantha McConnell from IFG Corporate Pensions when she said ‘ If you think about the uproar there is about water charges, what is astounding to me is that thus has gone through and we are not having marches’.

If we sit back and accept the levy we are undoubtedly going to see it continue if not increase going forward, if it provides an extra revenue stream for the government and enhances the flashy growth figures of the economy  on the run up to the next election that gets the thumbs up. The harsh reality is that we are on the brink of a pension crisis, and instead of facing the issue head on the government have decided to extract what they can from private pension pots for as long a sthey can.

In an effort to create awareness of this Pension Levy in the run in to the upcoming budget please tweet using the hashtag #PensionLevyDaylightRobbery