Our pension age at 68 will be world’s highest
Ictu urges re-think on plan to put pension age up to 68
WORKERS in their late 50s or under will have to wait until they are 68 to claim the State pension as the qualifying age is set to become one of the highest in the world.
You must be 66 to draw the State pension at the moment, but this will rise to 67 in less than three years, before jumping by another year to 68 in 2028.
There is the possibility that the age at which you can draw the pension could get even higher from 2035 as the Government plans to reassess the qualifying age every five years when it reviews life expectancy.
The Irish Congress of Trade Unions said Ireland was on course by 2028 to have the highest State pension age out of the 35 states in the developed world that make up the OECD.
The Government has been urged to reverse its decision to hike the qualifying age that leaves many pensioners reliant on the dole until they can get it.
There are currently 3.7 million people who are under 58 out of the total population of 4.7 million who may be affected.
Workers who are forced to retire at 65 due to clauses in their contracts, those who are physically unfit to work, or may not want to keep working, will lose out on thousands of euro as the pension drawdown age spirals upwards.
“It’s moving too far, too fast,” said Irish Congress of Trade Unions social policy officer Laura Bambrick.
WORKERS in their late 50s or under will have to wait until they are 68 to claim the State pension as the qualifying age is set to become one of the highest in the world.
You must be 66 to draw the State pension at the moment, but this will rise to 67 in less than three years, before jumping to 68 in 2028.
There is the possibility that the age at which you can draw the pension could get even higher from 2035 as the Government plans to reassess the qualifying age every five years when it reviews life expectancy.
The Irish Congress of Trade Unions said Ireland is on course to have the highest State pension age out of the 35 states in the developed world that make up the OECD by 2028.
The Government has been urged to reverse its decision to hike the qualifying age that leaves many pensioners reliant on the dole until they can get it.
There are currently 3.7 million people who are under 58 out of the total population of 4.7 million who may be affected.
Workers who are forced to retire at 65 due to clauses in their contracts, those who are physically unfit to work, or may not want to keep working, will lose out on thousands of euro as the pension drawdown age spirals upwards.
A worker who has reached 65 and made the necessary contributions can claim Jobseeker’s Benefit until they are 66.
After this, they may qualify for Jobseeker’s Allowance, which is means-tested. However, there is a €45 a week, or €2,355 a year, difference between Jobseeker’s Benefit and the full contributory pension.
To make matters worse, the qualifying age for a Household Benefits package worth €590 a year and free public transport are rising in line with the State pension age.
“It’s moving too far, too fast,” said Irish Congress of Trade Unions social policy officer Laura Bambrick.
“While increases in the pension age are taking place in many countries, Ireland is currently on course to have the highest pension age in the OECD in 2028.
“Other countries are also pushing out the retirement age and a few will go to 70 after us, but our uniqueness is that we have a young population. Most of the countries have qualifying ages in the 60s and are moving to the mid-60s but there’s a big difference between 63 and 68.”
She said the decision to push up the retirement age was made in 2012 when the economy was in a “very different space”. She urged the Government to put its decision to hike it further on hold and carry out consultations on funding the entire pension system.
General secretary of Ictu Patricia King asked how people are supposed to survive until they reach the new qualifying age.
She said the fate of those who cannot work between retirement and qualifying for the State pension is not addressed in the Government’s new blueprint to reform the pension system.
“There is no statutory retirement age, but if you reach 65 and an employer says ‘good luck’, what does that person do for those years? Is it the dole? They haven’t answered it.”
The Government roadmap launched earlier this year promised to ensure there will be no further increase in the State pension age before 2035.
But it could change in that year, or in 2040, and every five years after that based on its plan to carry out reviews of life expectancy.
The document said it plans that any change to the State pension age after 2035 will be directly linked to increases in life expectancy.
It says that a notice period of 13 years will be given before any change to the State pension age is made. The document focuses on getting employers to be more flexible and allow their staff to work beyond the traditional retirement age of 65.
It suggests it will consider putting obstacles in place to prevent employers forcing workers to retire at a set age.
The document says it will consider the “merits of restricting the capacity to use mandatory retirement provisions relative to the prevailing State pension age”.
However, it does not elaborate on the restrictions that might be rolled out.
If you reach 65 and an employer says ‘good luck’, what does that person do? Is it the dole?