Pensioners will not have to work past 66 years of age, the Government will announce today.
It means the plan to have people work longer until they are 67 and longer before receiving any pension payments after a long life’s work has been abandoned.
Instead, a compromise has been reached, where people can choose to work until 70 if they like, in return for a higher pension, up to €15 a week more according to sources last night.
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And in a new move, Social Protection Minister Heather Humpreys will ask the Cabinet to approve that unpaid, long-term carers will receive a State pension for the first time ever, in recognition of the great work they do at home looking after loved ones.
The Pensions Commission delivered an in-depth report last year that recommended the retirement age be moved to 67 by 2031 and 68 by 2039.
The Commission concluded this would have to be done to address the infamous ‘pensions timebomb’ as the cost of supporting a healthier ageing population is costing the taxpayer and the Exchequer more and more every year.
Social Protection Minister Heather Humphries said in March this year that leaving the pension age at 66 going forward would be “not sustainable.”
Fine Gael had campaigned in the General Election for the pension age to increase to 67 in February 2020, but this was not included in the Programme for Government.
Then, the Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, repeatedly came out strongly over the summer suggesting that Fianna Fáil would not let the retirement age go past 66.
A compromise has now been reached between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael in the Coalition, while a spokesman for the third party in the Coalition, the Greens, told the Irish Mirror last night that the party is “satisfied with the final outcome.”
A source close to Minister Humpreys told the Mirror that “Ireland is now moving away from a one size fits all pension and is following other EU countries in adopting a flexible approach.
“She will say that this is about giving people choice and reflecting the fact that people are living longer and now wish to work longer.”
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