he Government’s intention to increase the age of payment of the State pension from 66 to 67 in 2021 and to 68 in 2028, is giving rise to much discussion as we head for the polls on February 8th.

Some of the commentary is poorly informed, but understandably worry and even anger are being expressed by those most affected – particularly people who are contractually obliged to retire at age 65, or those whose work is so physically demanding that they don’t see how they could continue working until those later ages.

This is a problem that has been brewing for some time, born of demographic trends and a lack of private pension provision. But any policy response that does not raise the age at which we receive the State pension will be very costly.

About half of the working population (almost exclusively in the private sector) have no private retirement provision and will be reliant solely on the contributory State pension for income in retirement.

Anyone who has paid enough PRSI during their working life gets the contributory State pension. (The non-contributory pension is means tested.)

The problems caused by raising the pension age have been highlighted in reports issued by the Pensions Board, the ESRI, the OECD and others. Proposals to automatically enrol private sector workers into pension schemes are under discussion. They will help in the long run, but are clearly not a short-term solution.

Read more @Irish Times