Elderly 'distressed' over finances

Speculation about threats to the medical card scheme, the State pension and free travel is causing great distress to older people, the advocacy body Age Action told the International Monetary Fund (IMF) today.

Age Action said that at the meeting today with the IMF it had highlighted the impact which cutbacks and austerity measures were having on older people.

The national older people's charity said it had sought the meeting following comments in an IMF report earlier this month which proposed cuts in the universal supports for older people such as free travel and free gas/electricity units for over-70s. The IMF report had also called for an assessment of the "appropriateness of the real state pension rate".

Age Action said spokesman Eamon Timmins said: "We gave the IMF's representative an overview of the reality of life in Ireland in 2012 for many pensioners.We highlighted the importance of universal supports for older people such as the travel pass and the medical card, and listed all the cuts and new charges which older people on low, fixed incomes were now struggling to pay."

"We explained the distress which speculation about the State pension, the travel pass and free fuel units were causing to people who depended on these for their well being."

Age Action said it stressed that the State pension was the main source of income for the majority of State pensioners. It said the State pension played a key role in keeping older people out of poverty.

Age Action chief executive Robin Webster said the IMF's resident representative in Ireland, Peter Breuer had assured the charity that the issues raised at the meeting would be sent on to its headquarters in Washington.