Mayo pensioners left in the dark over payments

A MAYO Oireachtas member is seeking clarity on the government's proposals to rectify the 2012 changes to the pensions and the recalculation process.

Thousands of people around Mayo have been affected by this and have suffered drastic cuts to their pensions.

They find as they come up to pension age that they are not entitled to what they rightfully expected they would be entitled to, according to Senator Rose Conway-Walsh.

She explained: “The Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Deputy Doherty, said recently that 8,500 people had received a payment. She said that a further 24,000 have been contacted, leaving approximately 50,000 still to be contacted.

“It is also my understanding that 11,000 have yet to receive the initial correspondence from the Department and this means that approximately 61,000 people have yet to be dealt with.

“These people expect letters from the department. They have rung up and made inquiries and cannot get clarity on this. How long is this process expected to take? Is there a timeframe for finalising the 24,000 and dealing with the others?

“This is very urgent because there are pensioners living in fear, some who have suffered cuts and some who have been left with hardly any money to survive on. They are trying to pay for hospital treatment, travel and many other things and do not have the money for them.

“What is the size of the average payment? The Minister has said that 80% of the 8,500 have seen their payment increase, but what is the average uplift?

“There is a real injustice being done to pensioners in this country. It is being done covertly, particularly since 2012 when those changes were brought in. In 2012, people were struggling to survive and the impact of those changes is hitting home now.

“Some pensioners are followed beyond the grave for every last cent. It is an indictment of our country that pensioners who have contributed so much during their lives do not have sufficient pensions because of those changes.

"The changes do not apply only to State pensions. The ESB and the community employment scheme supervisors' pensions are affected as well. We need fairness and transparency.”