ESRI plan to raise retirement to 70 is ‘bizarre and unfeasible’

A PROPOSAL to increase the retirement age to 70 and delay paying people the State pension was described as ‘bizarre and unfeasible’ yesterday.

Moving the statutory retirement age from 65 to 70 would counteract a fall in the workforce and the rise in the number of pensioners, according to a report from the Economic and Social Research Institute.

It said that retirement age reform that increases the current statutory age by five years roughly corresponds to the projected increase in life expectancy. However, advocacy group Age Action Ireland rejected the proposal, saying it was wrong to make workers, especially those working in physically demanding roles, wait another five years for their pension. Justin Moran, Head of Advocacy and Communications with Age Action, said: ‘The pension age is already due to rise to 68 and that’s one of the fastest increases in Europe despite a relatively young population.

‘We spend billions on private pension tax breaks that mostly benefit a minority of workers instead of investing in a fair state pension, and we have some of the lowest employer social insurance rates in Europe. He added: ‘We force older workers out of their jobs at the age of 65 because of mandatory retirement clauses when many of them would prefer to keep working.’ In May, the Dáil heard that making employees retire at 65 was age discrimination and must be banned. A Sinn Féin Bill to abolish mandatory retirement passed second stage in the Dáil and is now under prelegislative scrutiny.

Fianna Fáil proposed similar legislation. Yesterday, Fianna Fáil’s spokesman on social protection Willie O’Dea also rejected the ESRI report as ‘bizarre and unfeasible’. Speaking on RTÉ’s Today with Seán O’Rourke, he added: ‘We have [already] proposed legislation to abolish’ mandatory retirement. Why they’re not being allowed to do so is... because the Government won’t advance the legislation.’