Vol. 563 No. 4
616 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs when she will remove the requirement whereby a person reaching the age of 65 must first retire for a period before being able to work and retain a portion of their pension; when she will remove the financial disincentives for people of pension age who may want to continue some form of employment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7684/03]
In addition to satisfying the relevant contribution conditions, those applying for retirement pension must be retired from employment or self-employment. Retirement is defined as not having earnings from employment of more than €38 per week or earnings from self-employment of more than €3,174 per annum.
The retirement pension was introduced in 1970 and was intended to bridge the gap between retirement at 65 and the pension age for social welfare purposes, which at the time was 70 years of age. The qualifying age for old age pension was subsequently reduced over time to 66 years of age. In the circumstances, the retirement condition now only applies for one year.
The Government is committed, as part of the programme for Government, to removing the requirement to retire at 65 in order to receive a retirement pension. Progress in this regard will be made as soon as possible, having regard to the availability of resources and the priority attaching to other elements of the Government programme.
