Pension changes impoverish women

Michael Clifford’s article, “It seems this is no country for old women”, on Saturday, August 23, spotlit discrimination against older women in Ireland.

His assertion that if there is social justice in the the forthcoming budget then issues surrounding women and pensions must be addressed echoes what the National Women’s Council of Ireland have been campaigning about for years (including in an op-ed, “Pensions system unfairly penalises women”, in this paper, in March of this year).

Our pension and social security systems are to lift people out of poverty, and older women are among those most at risk. It is a matter of huge concern that the changes to contribution requirements add to, rather than relieve, this situation, and leave a majority of older women with less income and greater vulnerability.