Longford Leader editorial: Pensions age anger won’t be going away

It seems that they badly underestimated the depth of public anger that would be caused by increasing the age at which citizens are eligible for an old age pension to 67.

This hike is not a recent stroke by the current Government. Fine Gael and Labour first introduced measures to gradually increase the age at which people can qualify for the State pension. The first jump was from 65 to 66 back in 2014.

Unfortunately for #GE2020 candidates, the next increase, to 67 from January 1, 2021, seems to have, in the past couple of weeks, registered as a real, costly measure with sectors of the electorate. They are determined to stop it coming in — because there is worse down the line, as the pension qualifying age is set to increase yet again to 68 in 2028.

Their protests are completely justified, despite legitimate concerns about an ageing workforce and a population that is healthier, and therefore will be receiving the pension, for longer.

But look at the flipside. We’re a prosperous nation. We can and should afford to not treat pensioners, people who worked hard to get us through the dour eighties and through the Celtic Tiger aftermath, so shabbily.

If a new pensioner signs on for Jobseeker’s Allowance for the two years after retiring at 65 — when many are expected to leave their jobs — it will cost them around €4,700. That’s a lot of money at an individual level for a person who would have had legitimate expectations of depending on it.

The older voter is understandably outraged about this. So are their family members. And these are the people who will turn out at the polls in the February election.

Rowing back on this draconian age hike should not be just an election promise. It should be halted because it’s an unfair measure, and that’s the right thing to do.