The government is facing renewed pressure to benchmark the state pension.
This comes as the census figures in May revealed that the average age of the population of Ireland has increased – with Wexford having one of the oldest populations in the country.
Active Retirement Ireland, SIPTU, the National Women’s Council and the Senior Citizens’ Parliament are uniting to form a new Pension Promise campaign.
The group is calling on the government to honour its commitment to a state pension of 34 per cent of average earnings – which would require increasing the current rate by 53 euro.
Age Action Ireland is also involved and spokesperson Nat O’Connor told South East Radio News that people need legal certainty when it comes to their pension. He went on to say:
“At the moment one in three older persons that are living alone are at risk of poverty and that’s up from one in five just two years ago. What has happened is that with inflation – pensions got left behind. There were pension increases but not adequately. They need a certain amount of certainty that they will be able to meet the essentials.”
