Ireland. 54% of women who had State pensions reviewed after ‘cruel’ 2012 changes will get more money
54% OF WOMEN who had their State pensions reviewed following “cruel” 2012 changes are to get more money.
Changes to the State pension introduced by the government in 2012 meant that carers who took time off work received less in their State pension – which particularly affected women who took time out to have children.
Last year, Fine Gael promised to review the anomaly, and indicated that it would cost €55 million to fix it.
The new approach meant that pensions would be calculated differently, and that up to 20 years of a new HomeCaring credit would be included.
In response to a Parliamentary Question posed by TD Éamon Ó Cuív, Minister for Social Protection Regina Doherty said that reviews commenced on 13 February 2019 and to date, 94,244 reviews have been completed.
Of these, 53,080 are women and 41,164 are men. Of the 53,080 women, a total of 28,520 (54%) received an increase while the rest remain on their existing rate.
Of the 41,164 men, 9,955 (24%) received an increase and the remainder continue to receive their same rate of payment.
Read more @The Journal
