Budget ‘must not push pensioners back into poverty’

THE huge progress made in saving pensioners from poverty must not be lost in the December budget, Age Action Ireland has warned.

Responding to a study by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ERSI) which found the number of older people at risk of poverty fell from 27% in 2004 to 16% in 2007, Age Action spokesman Eamon Timmins said that “plunging pensioners back into poverty by cutting key social welfare payments in the budget would be unthinkable.”

The charity said that the increase in the contributory and non-contributory state pension between 2004 and 2007 was a key factor in reducing poverty among pensioners.