Lynn Ruane (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I understand the voluntary nature of the proposal and that every scenario cannot be legislated for but I am thinking of households comprising a widow or a man on his own, where the only payment coming in is that person's pension and there is no pooling. In that scenario, the man may not have had the type of job where he could pay into a pension. He may have worked a very working-class job for his entire life and may wish to retire at the age of 66, but is told he can get a higher rate of pension voluntarily if he works longer. He would not have a desire to do so but would do it of necessity because the income of his home may depend on him and, whether the scheme is voluntary or not, he may feel that he needs to work longer in order to increase that income. If I stay in politics or go into academia or whatever, it might be much easier for me to decide to defer my pension age when I am 66 and work until I am 68. It would not take a physical or emotional toll on me to do that but even though it is voluntary, many people will feel like they have to defer their pension age even through they do not want to do so. They may not feel physically or psychologically able to keep working but they will do so because they know that if they defer, they will get a higher rate which they believe their household needs. It is not based on their ability to keep working, however. Even though this is voluntary in nature, coercion comes into it in many ways. People have to make decisions for their family. To take those people into account, it is necessary to have a real insight into the class or equality impacts and the nature of some types of work. I understand that disability allowance and invalidity pension are available but some people who simply cannot physically or psychologically work past the age of 66 might not want or need to be categorised in that way. I have watched men go out to work whose hands would crack in half if you tried to move them. They may have been working with cement all day or doing another job. When my father retired, there was not enough income in the house. I watched him go out in the early stages of Parkinson's disease to do a security job across the road at night.When people's household incomes are at such a low rate and there is an option for a higher rate, whether they feel like they can do it or not, they are going to maybe do it. There is something about being able to capture and protect those workers in a way that they do not feel pressured to work past what they feel they are physically and psychologically able to do just so they can access a higher rate of pay, whereas if people work in a job that takes less of a toll, it will be much easier for them to make that decision. People who have a higher level of education or have maybe a more professionalised background will find it much easier to access the higher rate than people who have been working highly laborious jobs their entire lives. It is something we should be assessing and thinking of when it comes to that deferred rate. There needs to be some sort of other category that captures the type of work or manual labour people have been doing in order that they do not end up on a lower rate or end up working longer just to get the higher rate because needs must.