Sir, – There are only seven months to go before the first of the employees born in 1949 will have to retire from their employment and face into a year of signing on the dole.
As things stand after the last budget, these people will be forced into claiming Job Seekers’ Allowance until they reach their 66th birthday as the transition pension is being discontinued from December 2013.This will represent a drop of €42 per week.
I feel this is grossly unfair to people who paid income tax and PRSI all their lives, with the expectation of a pension at retirement age.
This ill-thought-out decision gives no consideration to the short timeline for these retirees (myself included) to sort themselves out financially.
I would urge all forty-niners to lobby their politicians and county councillors in this regard, reminding them that if there isn’t a rethink on this decision, the consequences will be felt when the European and county council elections come around in 2014. – Yours, etc,
DENIS O SULLIVAN,
Darglewood,
Knocklyon,
Dublin 16.