The Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys announced the establishment of the Commission on Pensions yesterday (Tuesday, November 3).
While the Department of Social Protection says that membership of the commission reflects the “wide range of expertise and stakeholder representation necessary to examine the complex public and social policy issues involved”, the composition has come under criticism.
The STOP67 coalition has expressed its “disappointment at the failure of the government” to appoint enough members to the commission who reflect the “interests of those most affected by the proposed pension age increase”.
The coalition, which includes the National Women’s Council of Ireland (NWCI), trade union SIPTU, Age Action and Active Retirement Ireland, mounted a campaign during the general election campaign against the proposed pension age increase to 67 from next January.
‘Women living in rural areas are at more risk of poverty’
Irish Rural Link told AgriLand that with an ageing population and more women than men living in the country, women living in rural areas are “at more risk of poverty as they get older than women in urban areas”.
Louise Lennon of Irish Rural Link explained:
“A pensioner on a non-contributory pension living alone in a rural area has an income inadequacy of -€57.71; compared to a pensioner living in an urban area who has an income adequacy of €8.95 (Figures from the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice Minimum Essential Standard of Living 2020).
We are aware that women are more likely to be on a non-contributory state pension also – this is due to different and additional expenditure needs that are incurred living in a rural area.
“For example, transport costs for a pensioner living alone is €67.69 in a rural area compared to €6.92 for all pension household types in an urban area, due to lack of public transport and dependency on a car.”
‘Deep inequalities in our pension system’
Orla O’Connor, director of the NWCI added that women experience “deep inequalities in our pension system”.
“As women continue to do the majority of care work and are more likely to be in low-paid, part-time jobs, it is difficult to collect sufficient PRSI [Pay Related Social Insurance] contributions to be eligible for the full state contributory pension and so, they are more likely to be reliant on the non-contributory pension,” she said.
“Pension policy is absolutely crucial for women’s equality and has an enormous impact on women’s access to an independent income in old age.
While we recognise the expertise of the members on the commission, there is currently no civil society gender perspective. This means the direct experiences of women will not be reflected on the commission, in its deliberations and outcomes.
Peter Kavanagh, head of communications at Active Retirement Ireland said that the composition of the commission will “undoubtedly skew the conversation” and may “adversely affect the findings”.
“For those most affected by pension inequality to be absent from the conversation is not the transparent and open process we had hoped for,” he said.
“Our hope was that the Pensions Commission would consider a much broader set of implications than the fiscal pressures an ageing population places on the country.”