Mr. Tim Duggan:

We genuinely want to hear what people have to say about the package in the round. Furthermore, no decisions have been made on how people in self-employment will be treated under the total contributions approach, TCA, model. We are acutely aware that self-employed people only came into the system in 1988 and, consequently, the maximum number of years of contributions they would have if they were to retire in 2020 under the new TCA approach would be 32. If the model was 40 years, they would end up with a 80% pension but if it was a 30-year model, there would be no problem. It depends on the final model. In addition, if the final decision is that the years required will be in excess of what the self-employed could attain in the period available since 1988, we will have to introduce some transitionary measures to deal with the issue. The consultation paper asks respondents what these measures should be or what shape they should take. We genuinely want to hear what people have to say on this, not only public representatives but also self-employed persons and those who represent them.

It is not the case that we are on our own regarding the increase in the pension age. The difficulty with making comparisons across Europe is that it is almost impossible because Ireland is one of the only countries that sets a definitive retirement age at a definitive full year age. It is 66 years now and will be 67 in 2021. A large number of countries have adopted crazy pension ages, for example, 66 years and five months, and use complicated formulas for determining what the pension age will be in future. At least ten of the existing EU member states use formulas based on life expectancy to determine what the pension age will be in future. As a consequence, it is impossible to do a direct comparison with Ireland. I will give a few examples. The pension age in the Netherlands is now 65 years and nine months and the age is increasing by three or four months each year. Next year, it will be 66 years and one month and the following year it will be 66 years and five months and so on. It is expected to reach 67 years by the end of 2021 or beginning of 2022 and it will continue to increase based on life expectancy. There is no doubt that, under the Dutch model, the pension age in the Netherlands will exceed 68 years by 2028. Numerous other countries have similar types of systems. In Greece, the pension age is now 67 and the country has introduced a life expectancy element that will increase the pension age by a number of months each year. It will have increased considerably by 2028. The pension age in Italy will reach 67 years in the near future and it has also introduced a life expectancy calculation that will increase the pension age by several months each year. We believe the pension age in many countries will exceed 68 years before Ireland reaches a pension age of 68 years.