Those who will soon be collecting a state pension will be buoyed by statements made by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar on Sunday.
The Fine Gael leader has said the government plans to increase the state pension in this year’s Budget, and plans to continue to do so year-on-year.
While the Taoiseach offered no specifics when speaking to the press, he did say that “It is our intention to increase the pension and increase it ahead of the rate of inflation… every year,” according to the Irish Times. An increase would immediately affect hundreds of thousands of people.
The 2016 Budget had increased the state pension by €260 annually (€5 per week), a move which came into effect in March of 2017.
Pensioners on the state pension currently receive anywhere between €95 and €238, depending on how many years they contributed to their pension through PRSI.
However, specifics will not be finalised until the government goes through Budget negotiations, which the Taoiseach clarified had not yet begun.
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