Speaking after the Social Protection Committee forwarded their submission to the Pension Commission last week, Sinn Féin Senator Paul Gavan said that on balance there is not a clear case for raising the state pension age and our priority must be to have a fair and equitable pension system.

Senator Gavan, who acted as the Rapporteur on the submission, said:

“The Pension Commission has been set up by Government to look at a number of issues in relation to pension sustainability and this includes looking at raising the state pension age. The Commission is due to report this June but any rise in the pension age will not be fair and will disproportionately affect some workers. I welcome the fact that this all-party report clearly calls for the reintroduction of the State Pension Transition at the age of 65. 

“People should be allowed to continue work if they wish but in the view of the Social Protection Committee, the case for raising the retirement age is far from clear. A key point made in this submission is that a rigid application of a single retirement age is not a fair reflection of the many variations in today’s working environment.

“Increasing the pension age is a blunt instrument that does not take account of the fact that for many people, after a lifetime of physical work, a requirement to work on to 67 or 68 would have a detrimental impact on their health and well-being. 

“The state pension should do more than protect a person from poverty. It should in fact provide financial security while also enabling the recipient to continue to live a fulfilling and active life.”