Burton defends changes to state pension

A shake-up up of criteria for the state pension was defended by Social Protection Minister Joan Burton as she warned the country faced a €190m increase a year in payments due to greater life expectancy.

Ms Burton insisted the changes would be fair as they would better reflect a person’s contribution history, saying that those who paid more in would get more back.

The minister admitted that, if a person’s contribution dipped, relative pension entitlement would also fall.