Ireland will soon become the only leading economy without mandatory occupational pension provision, Siptu president Jack O'Connor said yesterday.

Mr O'Connor was responding to a report issued yesterday by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), warning that pension reforms will require people in OECD countries to save more for their retirement.

According to the report, Pensions at a Glance 2007, only in Hungary and the United Kingdom have recent pension reforms increased the value of pension benefits. In France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Sweden, the value of benefits has been cut by 15 - 25 per cent, it states.

The report says that one way to fund more generous pension payments in future is to raise the retirement age.

"Between 1999 and 2004, the average retirement age for men was below 60 in eight OECD countries, including Belgium, France, Hungary and Italy," it noted.

Mr O'Connor said Ireland was one of the worst performers for pension provision in the OECD.

"Ireland and New Zealand remain the only OECD countries without some form of mandatory occupational pension provision and we may soon be unique as New Zealand is about to introduce a 'soft' mandatory scheme," he said yesterday.

He added that Ireland had the second largest gap between average take home pay and the State pension after Britain.