News
The State Pension is a real Shame!
The Pension Coalition launched the beginning of a series of townhall meetings on Monday 19th June at Liberty Hall in Dublin. The purpose of the townhall meetings is to raise awareness of the inadequacy of the state pension and the need to raise the pension rate to 34% of average earnings. This figure of 34% was first proposed by the Government almost 25 years ago and was once again promised in 2018 in the Roadmap for Pensions Reform 2018-2023.
At the Dublin launch on Monday, representatives from each organisation in the Pension Coalition spoke about the inequalities and impoverished consequences for people relying on the state pension. The Coalition is made up of 5 organisations including the Irish Senior Citizens Parliament, Age Action, Active Retirement Ireland (ARI), SIPTU and the National Women’s Council of Ireland.
Nat O’Connor of Age Action highlighted the gross underfunding in overall social welfare and pension systems in Ireland in comparison to other EU countries. Both Nat and SIPTU researcher Michael Taft dismissed the misconception of the Irish Pension system being a ‘Ticking Timebomb’, advising that there is plenty of funds to support a sufficient and more sustainable pension system.
Our own CEO Sue Shaw and ARI CEO, Maureen Kavanagh demonstrated the lived experience of the people who rely on the state pension and who are struggling every day just to keep the lights on. The two organisations recently conducted membership surveys in which they revealed staggering statistics on the effects of trying to balance the low pension rate against the high cost of living. We even heard from audience members who wanted to let people know just how difficult life has been since the rise in cost of living. Geraldine Murphy spoke about the heartache in having to decide between paying for much-needed vet bills for her dog or fixing a leak in her roof.
No one should have to make these kinds of sacrifices let alone a pensioner who has worked their entire life in order to have the opportunity to enjoy their retirement. This opportunity has been taken away from so many, with people now dreading the day they must retire. We have reached out to people like Geraldine to ask if they would come forward and speak about their experience of living on the state pension. We were truly shocked and saddened to hear that nearly every person was too ashamed and embarrassed of letting anyone know that they were struggling or that their only income came from the state pension. At what point did this sense of shame get attached to the state pension? And how can the Government sit back and let this continue to happen?
The Government needs to keep their promise of a state pension rate of 34% of average earnings to enable people to live at an acceptable standard.
We wish to thank everyone who attended the launch on Monday in Dublin. We would love to continue seeing this support at our next few events. Please see dates below of our upcoming townhall meetings that might be coming to a town near you:
Scam Text Messages in full force!
We have received multiple reports of scam text messages doing the rounds and they can be very convincing. Scam text messages usually come from an unknown number claiming to be someone like Revenue or An Post, for example. The text messages often contain a link and asks you to click on the link which takes you to a website, where you might be asked to provide personal details.
NEVER REPLY to any of these text messages!
NEVER CLICK ON ANY LINK OR WEB ADDRESS contained within these texts!
A newer type of scam text being circulated is from someone claiming to be a relative or friend who is stuck in a bind. Our own staff members have received a text message asking or help from mum, claiming that their phone is broken and that they have gotten a new phone number. In this instance, the scammer asks you to reply to this ‘new number’ either by text or on Whatsapp.
NEVER REPLY to any of these text or Whatsapp messages!
If you are ever in doubt, DO NOT RESPOND!
Here are some screenshots of text messages that some of our members have received:
Pension Promise Campaign 2023
“The Cost of Living is reducing our spending power – I cannot afford to buy a bale of briquettes.”
The Pension Promise Campaign is calling on the Government to honour the promise of a state pension rate of at least 34% of average earnings. The Pension Promise Campaign is led by the pension coalition which consists of the ISCP, SIPTU, Age Action, the National Women’s Council and Active Retirement Ireland. The Pension Promise Campaign is part of a wider demand for fair and flexible pensions for all.
Poverty and deprivation are rising for older adults due to high price inflation, with risk of poverty having doubled and consistent poverty more than tripled since 2020. Older people deserve adequate and secure incomes. It’s no more than they have earned after a lifetime of working, paying taxes and contributing to their communities.
The current maximum weekly rate of the state pension is €265.30, just 28% of average earnings. This falls €53 per week short of the Government’s commitment of 34% (€318 per week) and fails to deliver on the Government’s promise to provide a basic level of pension adequacy.
It is 25 years since the National Pensions Policy Initiative proposed a benchmark of 34% of gross average industrial earnings for the contributory State Pension. Under the Roadmap for Pensions Reform 2018-2023, the Department of Social Protection was asked to develop proposals for a formal benchmark of 34% and to institute a process where future changes in pension rates would be indexed to changes in consumer prices and average wages. The Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025, which the current programme for government has committed to implement rigorously, states that “this Government has committed to the introduction of a system of benchmarking rates of pension payment both to average wages and to inflation.” Benchmarking is also a recommendation of the Report of the Commission on Pensions.
We will be holding a series of townhall meetings across Ireland to try to address this injustice and to bring this unfair treatment of state pensioners to the fore. This campaign is a fight for all current and future pensioners. This affects us all!
So please show your strength and support by attending one of our townhall meetings near you. If you are reliant on the state pension and would like to speak about your experience, please get in touch with Niamh at development@seniors.ie. We stand for all older persons and wish to accurately represent your lived experience.
Find more information about the current campaign at thepensionpromise.com:
Get the FACTS!
Download the FACT SHEET to help answer of your questions.
See details of our upcoming townhall meetings below:
World Elder Abuse Awareness Day 2023
World Elder Abuse Awareness Day occurs on 15th June each year and is recognised as a United Nations Day by the General Assembly. The WHO estimates that 1 in 6 people over 60 years of age suffers from abuse which equates to nearly 141 million people globally. Elder abuse and neglect are one of the most underrepresented and underreported violations of human rights so it can be assumed that the real figure is much higher.
What is Elder Abuse?
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines “elder abuse” or “abuse of older people” as a single or repeated act or lack of appropriate action occurring within any relationship in which there is expectation of trust that causes harm or distress to an older person.
The UN Decade of Health Ageing (2021-2030) was brought about in response to growing reports of elder abuse across the world. The publication “Tackling abuse of older people: five priorities for the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021–2030)” which was released in 2022 outlines 5 key concerns in addressing Elder Abuse:
- Combatting ageism as it is a major reason why the abuse of older people receives so little attention.
- Generating more and better-quality data to raise awareness of the problem.
- Development and scaling up cost–effective solutions to stop abuse of older people.
- Make an investment case focusing on how addressing the problem is money well spent.
- Raise funds as more resources are needed to tackle the problem.
How prevalent is Elder Abuse in Ireland?
From 2018 – 2022, almost 16,000 cases of elder abuse have been reported within HSE funded services for older people. The number of abuse concerns relating to over-65s increased from 3,029 in 2016 to a peak of 3,412 in 2020, the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic. The most common type of abuse reported in 2020 which accounted for 35% of reports involved psychological abuse which can include coercive control, followed by physical abuse (23%), financial abuse (19%), neglect (15%) and self-neglect (4%).
The HSE National Safeguarding Office Survey conducted last year found that 44% of adults said that they personally had experienced abuse. Yet of those who had experienced abuse; 41% said they did nothing at all about it, and half of these said they took no action because they did not know what to do. Women are also substantially more likely than men to have experienced emotional, psychological, physical and sexual abuse.
In addition, the narrow definition of coercive control has serous impacts for older people. Our current laws only recognise coercive control as an identifiable crime in the setting of an intimate relationship between a couple. The definition of coercive control should be expanded to include the coercive control of another person as a crime in any close adult relationship. This is particularly important for vulnerable or older adults.
Global View of Elder Abuse:
As the global population of people aged 60 years and older will more than double, from 900 million in 2015 to about 2 billion in 2050, the abuse of older people is also predicted to increase as many countries are experiencing rapidly ageing populations.
What can we do?
This year the National Safeguarding Office will be marking this day with a number of key events including co-hosting a conference in Trinity College Dublin. The theme for 2023 is ‘Hear Me, Support Me, Challenge Elder Abuse” which is a call to action to address elder abuse in a way that respects the autonomy and empowerment of older people in Ireland, whilst being in line with the human rights principles the Assisted Decision Making (Capacity) legislation.
Ahead of the milestone of the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the month of June will focus on showcasing the UDHR by raising awareness on its legacy, relevance and activism as relates to women’s rights. The theme of the 2023 WEAAD is entitled Closing the Circle: Addressing Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in Older Age – Policy, Law and Evidence-based Responses.
If you suspect someone you know may be a victim of abuse, or if you are a victim of abuse yourself, you should contact your local health centre, your GP, public health nurse or the Garda Síochana. You can also contact the HSE Information Line on 1850 24 1850.
