A decision on the issue of the State pension age is expected to be made by the Government by the age of March.
The Oireachtas committee examining the recommendations of the Pensions Commission has said the qualifying age should not rise beyond 66. It also said mandatory retirement ages from work should be banned by law.
The committee’s view runs counter to the stance of the commission which argued the pension age should rise in steps to 67 by 2031 and then to 68 by 2039. The commission proposed to increase the qualifying age by three months every year from 2028.
We asked Irish Times readers to share their experiences on the issue.
Here are some of the responses we received. Some entries have been edited for length.
Robert Rigney
‘Increased retirement age will widen wealth gap’
I have paid PRSI contributions since the age of 15, specifically under a social contract that they were being accumulated towards a contributory pension. That’s why it called “contributory”.
At this stage I have over 37 years of contributions. By age 66, it will be 51…
