The age for the collection of pension benefits should be varied from 65 to take account of longer life expectancies, the new president of the Faculty of Actuaries, Mr David Kingston, has stated.

Speaking at his inauguration, the first Irish president of the faculty, Mr Kingston - a former chief executive of Irish Life - said that new guidelines need to be drawn up linking life expectancy, the capacity to continue earning income in later years and the timing of pension payout.

"How do governments control the cost of pensions when the population is living longer and the proportion over 65 is growing fast?" he asked.

"The only way to cater for this is to vary the age at which the State pension is paid," he said. "Flexibility is therefore required, with employers moving to benefit arrangements and governments to pension ages which vary as the age structure of the population changes," he added.

Mr Kingston also emphasised the need to cater for a much wider range of advice to pension fund trustees and members as the choice of investment funds widens. "The actuarial profession has a major role to play in ensuring that pension funds and their members receive good advice on the risks and rewards of different types of investment," he said.

He added that with so many insurance companies demutualising, there is a need to examine if a new form of mutual company structure can be devised.