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Monday 27 March 2023 Dublin: -2°C

# Pensioners

Last year
2022
# pension age
Pension age to stay at 66, but higher payments for those who continue to work
People will have the option of working to age 70 in exchange for a higher rate of pension payments.
Pension age shouldn't go beyond 66, says Micheál Martin
Opinion: I am one of 'generation rent' - it sounds like a joke but we've stopped laughing
# Retirement
Proposals on possible pension age increase to go to Govt before summer recess, says minister
The Pensions Commission has recommended a gradual increase in the qualification age from 66 to 68 over the next 17 years.
# Cork
Paramedics set up GoFundMe page to assist elderly siblings robbed at knife point
Gerry O’Halloran (79) and his 83 year old sister Mary were threatened by a male intruder in the course of an aggravated burglary.
All time
# state pension
ESRI: Those who live alone are at greater risk of falling below the poverty line when they retire
Researchers examined whether soon-to-be pensioners will have adequate income in retirement.
Voices
Opinion: Signing on the dole as a pensioner was a horrible experience
They sent me to a workshop where I had to say I was interested in jobs, writes Sue Redmond, a retired health worker.
# rent hike
Some pensioners in South Dublin to be hit with council house rent rise of more than €600
“Multi-person households” that include pensioners will not receive the €10 weekly discount.
# Cork City
'We must be more vigilant': Body of pensioner lay undiscovered in house for seven months
The death is not being treated as suspicious.
# austerity measure
'A recovery for whom?': Government slammed for refusal to reintroduce free passport for pensioners
Free passports for pensioners were done away with under austerity measures, but there are calls now to bring it back.
# telephone allowance
Some pensioners to begin getting €130 a year phone bill allowance to prevent 'social isolation'
Minister Regina Doherty said it’s important to stay in contact with family and friends as we get older.
# marriage bar
'I never cost the State a penny, but now they're taking part of my pension'
Tens of thousands of people are losing out on receiving a full State pension due to rules that were introduced in 2012.
# money in the pocket
The pension is definitely going up and Micheál Martin has dismissed claims he's opposed to rises
“We are working towards increasing the pension in the next budget,” Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said.
Scottish Tories say country is 'too cold' to means-test winter fuel payments
The Conservative Party wants the payment to be means-tested in other parts of the UK.
# Anthony Connors
Serial burglar who targets pensioners sentenced to 144 years in prison over his criminal career
Connors told the couple he “had mates waiting outside” and said he would set the apartment on fire.
# Poll
Poll: Do you think the state pension should be increased?
Fianna Fáil wants a €5 increase for pensioners in the next Budget.
# Age Action
Irish pensioners made to choose between heat and food need extra €5 a week
Age Action is calling for increases to the State pension and the living alone allowance.
# promises
People on the dole to see 50% increase in their Christmas bonus this year
The bonus is paid to long-term welfare claimants such as jobseekers, pensioners, carers, lone-parents and those with a disability.
# Take a Break
No such thing as a free lunch? Not for these pensioners
Take a break and read about this random act of kindness.
# Elder Abuse
Niece suspected as thousands disappear from pensioner's account
This is just one example of elder abuse in Ireland.
# Pensioners
Oscar and Costa strike as leaders Chelsea take advantage of Man City's slip-up
Jose Mourinho’s men are now two points clear at the top of the table after a 2-0 win over Newcastle at Stamford Bridge.
# Cash Money
Joan Burton wants to increase the Christmas Bonus again next year
The Tánaiste is in a giving mood and says the partial restoration of the bonus this year is “a start”.
# budget 2015
Readers’ Panel Part Two: What are you expecting from Budget 2015?
We spoke to some readers about their hopes and fears ahead of tomorrow’s budget. Here’s what they had to say, in their own words.
Voices
Opinion: You’re never too old to talk – so don't overlook older people's mental health
Some great strides have been made in this country in recent years to tackle mental health issues, but let’s make sure all people in society are cared for.
# Christmas Bonus
Pensioners are now having to 'choose between food and fuel and medication'
Age Action says it would welcome the return of the Christmas Bonus in next week’s Budget.
# Homelessness
Pensioners could face jail over housing eviction
Martin and Violet Coyne face homelessness after alternative accommodation falls through.
# community spirit
€10,000 reward offered for information on gang attacking pensioners in Donegal
The community have come together to try and put an end to the attacks on the elderly.
# defined benefit
Burton says pension changes will give "certainty"
Joan Burton says that the Government hopes that uses of the new law will be a “rare event”.
Voices
Column: Pitting one section of the Irish people against another weakens us all
Budget 2014 hit the most vulnerable elements of society – not the young, the sick, the old, or pregnant alone. We need to show intergenerational solidarity and stand together against this injustice, writes Peter Kavanagh.
# News Fix
Here’s What Happened Today: Tuesday
Everyone’s talking about the pensioners’ protest, a little girl taken from a Roma family in Dublin and the NSA spying on the French.
# vox pop
VIDEO: Pensioners at today's protest believe the worst is yet to come
One worries that without the telephone allowance her emergency alarm will be cut off. Another wishes he had never moved back to Ireland.
# Protest
Thousands join pensioners’ protest against Budget cuts
The crowd at Leinster House was predominantly made up of elderly people who oppose cuts to medical cards for over 70s and other measures announced in last week’s Budget.
# Budget 2014
Noonan: 'No connection' between cuts for pensioners & free GP care for under 5s
The Minister’s been speaking to reporters on his way into the final Cabinet meeting ahead of Budget 2014.
# Comments
Top readers' comments of the week
Here’s our round-up of the most interesting and most popular comments from this week. Did you make it in?
# Your Say
Poll: Should pensioners pay for their TV licences?
Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary thinks free television licences and free travel for over 65s should be done away with. What do you think?
# Pensions
Cut in private pension tax break could facilitate universal pension for all over 65s
A study by Social Justice Ireland was launched earlier today.
Voices
Column: I hope I hold on to my health – I don’t think I can afford to get sick
With the number of older people in consistent poverty doubling over just one year, pensioner Gordon* explains what daily life is like for him – and how he fears for the future.
# bad hip
New EU-funded device detects when a pensioner has a bad fall
Around 20 per cent of elderly people receive hospital care every year after a fall.
# Britain
Rich pensioners 'should give back any handouts they don't need'
Free bus travel, free television licences, heating bill payments – one Conservative minister in Britain has suggested rich pensioners may not need them all.
# The Taxman
8 things we learned from Revenue's annual report
Nearly 100 million cigarettes, a million litres of fuel and nearly €50 million of drugs were seized by Revenue last year.
# Medical Cards
20,000 people over 70 to lose medical cards under new legislation
However Minister of State Alex White said that medical card coverage of the over 70s population stands at 97 per cent.
# Europa League
Torres knocks but goals won't go in as Chelsea lose in Romania
“The most disappointing thing is that we did not score,” opined Chelsea stopper Petr Cech.