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Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said that additional PRSI contributions may be necessary to keep the pension age at 66.
Speaking to the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party, Martin said that people should be offered the option to work beyond 66 if they wish and continue to pay PRSI to qualify for a full pension.
Taoiseach Micheal Martin says pension age should not go beyond 66 https://t.co/VebSCf4Mbl
— Irish Independent (@Independent_ie) July 1, 2022
The pension age of 66 in Ireland was originally due to increase to 67 last year. However, this decision was postponed after significant controversy at the last General Election in 2020.
Ingrid Miley explains why pensions have become a huge talking point for all parties ahead of the General Election. #GE2020 | More election coverage: https://t.co/vAzuWCsieV pic.twitter.com/irHm6zFhTt
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) January 22, 2020
Originally, the pension age was set to rise from 66 to 67 in 2021, and ultimately to 68 in 2028.
However, since then the Pensions Commission has recommended that this time frame should be pushed back.
The Commission recommends that the pension age should begin to increase after 2028 by three months every year, before finally reaching 67 in 2031. Ultimately, it advises that the pension age should reach 68 by 2039.
The body has added that one way in which this could be achieved is by increasing self-employed workers’ PRSI contributions from 4% to 11%.
There have been warnings for years about what has been dubbed a “pensions crisis.” CSO figures earlier this year revealed that in Ireland there are around a million private sector workers in the state with no supplementary pension savings, who could one day end up in a state of poverty.
Moreover, it’s possible that the cost of living crisis and inflation could impact on private sector workers’ ability to save in the short term, as energy, fuel and grocery bills appear set to increase significantly in the coming months.
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