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06th Dec 2017

It’s Looking Like We’ll All Be Working For A Lot Longer In The Near Future

Shirleydonlon

We hope you’re happy out being a busy worker bee, because the mandatory age of retirement for those working in the public service is set to rise from 65 to 70.

The new plans are set to be announced by Minister for Finance Pascal Donoghue today, according to a Government spokesperson. 

Under current legislation, public service workers must retire at the age of 65. 

However, under this new bill it is understood that workers will still be able to retire at the age of 65 but will have the option to continue working until they turn 70, according to The Irish Times.

The change was approved by Cabinet yesterday, and the process is understood to be phased in over a period of time.

The new move to an older working force is hoped to relieve financial difficulties for people

Head of Advocacy at Age Action, Justin Moran, spoke about the proposal on RTE’s Morning Ireland today, saying that the measure will allow people to continue working if they wish. 

He said that the current process by which state workers who turn 65 are required to retire, even though they are not entitled to their state pension until the following year ‘creates a great deal of difficulty of financial hardship for a lot of older workers’.

He added: ‘The notion that forcing older workers out creates jobs for younger workers isn’t backed up by the evidence and in fact examples in France and Belgium show that the opposite is the case.’

‘The more people you have in employment, the more people are growing the economy, creating job opportunities.’ 

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