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Press release

Launch of the Pensions Commission website

Today the Pensions Commission launched its website, pensionscommission.gov.ie, with the publication of agendas, minutes, presentations and links to external reports as covered in the four meetings held since the 25th of November 2020. The Terms of Reference and full membership details are also included. Details of the first stage of consultation to inform the Commission’s work, including a paper providing guidelines and information for making a submission, will be available in the coming weeks.

In line with a Programme for Government commitment, the Commission has been asked to examine sustainability and eligibility issues in respect of State Pension arrangements and to develop options for the Government to address issues such as qualifying age, contribution rates, total contributions and eligibility requirements.

Over the course of its first four meetings, the Commission has considered:

  • its terms of reference and how the Commission will do its work;
  • the nature, scope and scale of demographic and ageing population trends, and its implications for fiscal and social sustainability;
  • the social insurance system and the performance of the Social Insurance Fund through which the State Pension Contributory is paid;
  • trends in relation to the ageing workforce and the issue of retirement ages in employment contracts.

The membership of the Commission represents the wide range of expertise and stakeholder representation necessary to examine the complex public and social policy issues involved. This includes representation of workers, employers, civil society, academics and those with technical and policy expertise.

The Minister for Social Protection, Heather Humphreys, TD, commented:

The work of the Pensions Commission will be pivotal to the future of Ireland’s State Pension system. As Minister for Social Protection, I want to ensure that it will provide adequate support to people in retirement. The outcome of the Pensions Commission’s work will be of equal significance to our young people as well as to those approaching retirement. I am pleased to have recently secured a continuation of the existing State pension age to allow the Pensions Commission to carry out its work.

The Chair of the Pensions Commission, Ms. Josephine Feehily, said:

I am pleased to launch the Pensions Commission’s website. I consider it important to keep the public informed about the Commission’s work and its deliberations. The publication of meeting outputs shows that the Commission has considered foundational evidence to inform the next stage of its work, examining how best to ensure fiscally and socially sustainable State Pensions arrangements into the future.

Future meetings of the Pensions Commission will consider a range of policy options in detail and also how the pension system can further accommodate carers.

Outputs of the Commission’s work such as meeting agendas and minutes will be published regularly on its website pensionscommission.gov.ie.

ENDS

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