Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy may be aware, it is not possible for the State to provide that a retirement age below 66 in all circumstances will be illegal. The reality is that certain roles may require a lower retirement age, often for the health and safety of the workers in question. That is especially so where people have very physically demanding jobs, for example. It is also critical for public-safety-critical roles and that is a matter of contract between employers and employees. The Pensions Commission recognises that and Members in this Chamber also need to recognise it. Having said that, this legislation will make it very difficult for employers to enforce a retirement age below 66 unless they can justify it and the WRC is there, as a matter of recourse, in cases where workers may experience issues in that regard.

The reality is that we need to provide for the limited cases where a lower retirement age is required. For the vast majority of people, this legislation is going to give them choice, autonomy and the opportunity to decide for themselves whether they want to retire at 65 or continue working beyond that.

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