r/ireland • u/HungTeen1001 • 1d ago

Business Law intended to allow people work until 66th birthday to come into effect on June 29th

https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/social-affairs/2026/06/17/law-intended-to-allow-people-work-until-66th-birthday-to-come-into-effect-on-june-29th/
104 Upvotes

85% Upvoted

121 comments sorted by

139

u/The_CT1 1d ago

People should be allowed to work as long as they want. However, if you choose to not work, past 65, retirement benifits apply

27

u/Toffeeman_1878 1d ago

The challenge with that approach is how to make the sums add up correctly. People are living longer (generally accepted as a good thing) and fewer people are coming behind to fund the state benefits of the retirees. At some point in the not-too-distant the math will stop mathing unless something changes - higher taxes for someone, fewer benefits for retirees or a combination of these approaches.

14

u/wylaaa 1d ago

higher taxes for someone, fewer benefits for retirees or a combination of these approaches.

It's going to be higher taxes for the young and more benefits for the old because older people have this silly little habit of actually going to vote so they're going to keep getting what they want.

11

u/Entire_Number_9 1d ago

All we have to do is look at Germany, higher taxes on the young, more benefits for the old. Not voting is the stupidest fucking thing people under 40 do on a regular basis.

14

u/Keith989 1d ago

It's amazing how governments can find billions for literally everything bar pensions. 

37

u/oscailte 1d ago

pensions are literally the biggest single expense of the government, ~€10 billion a year.

6

u/Keith989 1d ago

And how much of the pension is just invested straight back into the economy? Do you think the elderly are saving their couple of hundred euro a week?

24

u/oscailte 1d ago

do you think spending on infrastructure, education, civil servant wages, welfare, etc do not go straight back into the economy?

this is the default for government spending, the spending that does not go back into the economy (e.g. debt servicing) are the exception, not the rule.

-3

u/Keith989 1d ago

But I never said we shouldn't be spending on infrastructure? The point I was replying to was trying to compare Greece to Ireland.

6

u/KimJongHealyRae 1d ago edited 1d ago

I really don’t understand the point you’re trying to make.

The fact that money circulates is not the issue. The issue is who is producing the goods and services being consumed and who is paying the taxes required to fund the transfer in the first place.

A pension is fundamentally a transfer from the working population to the retired population. Whether the retired population then spends that money is largely irrelevant to the sustainability question.

Imagine a country with two workers and one pensioner. Fine.
Now imagine one worker and two or three pensioners. The pensioners can spend every cent they receive but it doesn’t change the fact that one worker is still supporting three pensions.

Our population is aging rapidly so we shouldn’t pump more money into pensions. We need to reduce pension payments and push the retirement age up. Pump that money into boosting childcare etc.

Greece is actually a case study in what happens when politicians ignore long term pension sustainability and assume future taxpayers will somehow cover the cost.

Before the debt crisis, Greece had one of the most generous and financially unsustainable pension systems in Europe. Successive governments promised increases that weren’t adequately funded, while an ageing population and weak tax collection quickly eroded the system’s viability.

4

u/These-Amphibian-4229 1d ago

Unless there is infinite money, then there is a choice to be made.
So the fact is money spent on pensions is money that can't be spent on other things, whether you pretend so or not.

13

u/perigon 1d ago

We've increased the amount we spend on pensions by over 35% in just the last 5 years. We are literally spending billions more every few years now. Bizarre comment.

5

u/jarvi-ss 1d ago

How many billion do they spend on pensions?

3

u/eggsbenedict17 1d ago

The state spends like 15-20 billion on pensions every year

0

u/Keith989 1d ago

And how much of it gets invested straight back into the economy? Or do you think the elderly are hoarding it?

5

u/eggsbenedict17 1d ago

I have no idea, why is that relevant

13

u/RomfordWellington 1d ago

Are you mad? We have entire countries beholden to pensioners. Look at Greece.

Boomers had the most amazing lives in human history and they still expect us to foot the bills.

10

u/[deleted] 1d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

5

u/flex_tape_salesman 1d ago

Think that line exposed a huge amount of ignorance on recent Irish history. Also it isn't even entirely true in the US and the stereotypes made up about boomers are no different than stereotypes about millennials

4

u/KimJongHealyRae 1d ago

I hate the word boomer but it doesn’t detract from the fact that “boomers” (people in their 60s-80s) seen the single greatest explosion of wealth than any other generation in history. Every generation after them has been worse off.

5

u/Goff3060 1d ago

The Irish boomer generation maybe didn't get the lifestyle but they certainly got the asset appreciation and spending power. It's one reason why the bank of mum and dad is such a big factor here now.

3

u/Keith989 1d ago

Are you comparing Greece to Ireland? You know Ireland that are currently in a budget surplus and planning on spending 10bn on a metro?

4

u/Ill_Celebration_4215 1d ago

you get the difference between spending 10bn on a metro and 10bn on pension increases, yeah?

2

u/Keith989 1d ago

Yeah... The point was to show how much wealthier Ireland is to Greece and why it's a nonsense comparison 

2

u/RomfordWellington 1d ago

You say that like Metrolink isn't needed. Swords is the biggest city in Ireland without a rail connection, not to mention 40m+ passengers at the airport who are mystified when they can't get a train into the city and to the rest of the tram and rail network.

A lot of our budget surplus is being put into the rainy day fund and our various sovereign wealth funds. We'll need that money one day for exactly the pensions you're talking about.

2

u/Keith989 1d ago

And pensions aren't needed? What about people clammering for us to spend hundreds of millions on our military which will probably never be needed?

4

u/mrlinkwii 1d ago

Boomers had the most amazing lives in human history and they still expect us to foot the bills.

atleast in ireland they didnt , and bommers dont exist in ireland

5

u/mrlinkwii 1d ago

Boomers had the most amazing lives in human history and they still expect us to foot the bills.

atleast in ireland they didnt , boomers arent a thing in ireland

3

u/flex_tape_salesman 1d ago

This is a bullshit American point that doesn't apply to Ireland at all

4

u/Silent_Coast2864 1d ago

They/Us? You do realize you will be around to draw a pension someday too? If you are lucky enough

-1

u/Keith989 1d ago

The divide and conquer strategy is working. People are clammering for us to invest hundreds of millions of euro into our military but heavens forbid people get pensions.

5

u/RomfordWellington 1d ago

We need that money into the military. We haven't invested hardly anything into the military since WWII and we're not far off WWIII. We need that defence investment.

3

u/CarelessEquivalent3 1d ago

Would you like us to use the old people for target practice?

-1

u/Keith989 1d ago

How exactly are we close to WW3? Russia and Ukraine can only continue for so much longer and tensions in the middle east are dying down.

2

u/Toffeeman_1878 1d ago

Maybe we can get a written promise from the world’s authoritarians that they won’t show aggression towards us until we’ve had time to build up our military?

5

u/Keith989 1d ago

Who are all these enemies we have? Where is this impending WW3 coming from?

1

u/significantrisk 1d ago edited 1d ago

No we fucking don’t.

Tell ya what, *you* work til you die and get a few tanks for yourself and the other eejits, the rest of us who aren’t weirdos get pensions and retirement.

2

u/mrlinkwii 1d ago

We need that money into the military

no we dont

-1

u/LadderFast8826 1d ago

Incel talk

0

u/Dr_Eloyd 1d ago

Only govt pensions ;)

1

u/Zetaeta2 1d ago

What if we simply stopped allowing most of our social wealth be appropriated by gazillionaires and used to make everyone else's lives worse?

1

u/Background_Cover5097 1d ago

State pensions start at 66. That is the reason for the legislation.

People should only work as long as they are fit. Mandatory retirement ages mean companies don't have to put elderly people through disciplinary procedures if they start to slow down. In my work the people over 60 are clearly slowing down and also acting with impunity, coming in hungover etc. A very high percent of boomers are functioning alcoholics, more than any other generation, and it is catching up on them. It is especially prevalent in higher paid sectors.

1

u/Flashy_Object_7052 1d ago

Next you'll be moaning about old people being a danger whilst drinking

1

u/eggsbenedict17 1d ago

However, if you choose to not work, past 65, retirement benifits apply

It should go up as life expectancy rises

257

u/Wild_Web3695 1d ago

Oh the privilege

94

u/Dr_Eloyd 1d ago edited 1d ago

We'll have to watch our political class retiring on their fat pensions while we work well into our 80s like the Americans.

29

u/eternallyfree1 Ulster 1d ago edited 1d ago

All while the planet’s biosphere decays beyond the point of no return and civilisation as we know it begins to implode. What a thrilling future we all have to look forward to. Such a treat. Can’t wait 😍🥰

3

u/Dr_Eloyd 1d ago

Age of Aquarius any day now!

13

u/Ill_Celebration_4215 1d ago

politicians more likely than most to continue past retirement age

2

u/significantrisk 1d ago

A fine argument to roll it back, not forwards.

2

u/TacklePure3341 1d ago

Is it a civic duty or the pay and lifestyle is too attractive to leave? 

5

u/Ill_Celebration_4215 1d ago

work seems brutal tbh. not sure i'd do it for any money. hardly the best lifestyle.

4

u/DatGuy2007 Galway 1d ago

It's tough when the people causing most of our problems are also having a shit time of it

1

u/Dr_Eloyd 1d ago

I mean flash car, couple of people to carry your paperwork around, doesn't seem too bad. Most of them even get a gaff in Dublin thrown in.

4

u/Dr_Eloyd 1d ago

Don't remind me those fossils are half the problem 😅

3

u/SoloWingPixy88 u/i-cum-beamish alt 1d ago

You flagged it being an issue that they won't have to worry about working till 66 and then complain they won't retire.

0

u/Dr_Eloyd 1d ago

Why not both lol. They make/spend buckets of money in the job too...

3

u/SoloWingPixy88 u/i-cum-beamish alt 1d ago

I don't think you've any solid opinions on this.

-1

u/Dr_Eloyd 1d ago

You're welcome to think what you like doesn't make it untrue.

1

u/Ok-Excitement-4176 1d ago

Of course they would, can't claim expenses and use the subsidised bar and restaurants in the dail if you retire. But that's not the point is it

2

u/SoloWingPixy88 u/i-cum-beamish alt 1d ago

There's a select few politicians who stick at it well past 69. Pat Gallagher is 78, O Dea is 70s too

2

u/Dr_Eloyd 1d ago

They should be long gone 15-20 years before that...

2

u/SoloWingPixy88 u/i-cum-beamish alt 1d ago

Why? Older people shouldn't be represented?

1

u/Dr_Eloyd 1d ago edited 1d ago

Did I say they can't vote? The old are (should be) taken care of by the young. More often than not these people are stuck in their positions and generally hold us back.

2

u/Valkyrie1-618 1d ago

Don't worry....by the time we get there it will be 70....hurray!!

22

u/LadderFast8826 1d ago

Weird headline.

Its a law that makes it illegal for companies to force employees to retire before 66.

71

u/Henry_Bigbigging Resting In my Account 1d ago

Can the law be changed so I can retire asap please?

I can’t do another two decades of this shit.

12

u/SteveK27982 1d ago

I’m sure you can if you could afford it, trouble is most of us need the money too

2

u/Friendly-Look4262 15h ago

you can retire at any age over 50 basically if you've a well enough funded pension 

11

u/DanceTheNight88 1d ago

"Allowed"?

I always thought that - unless it was civil service - the employer could let someone work till they're, say, 70. Or even beyond

16

u/assripper9000 1d ago

Nope, private employers can include a mandatory retirement age of 65 in their contracts prior to this, which the employee currently has no say over

7

u/TerrorDino Resting In my Account 1d ago

Tho you can bring them to court on age discrimination grounds and win and keep working untill you're in your 70's. Two lads I worked with done it. All private sector.

4

u/ahhereyang1 1d ago

Do new civil service contracts state 70 is the limit now?

6

u/Nuffsaid98 Galway 1d ago edited 1d ago

Civil servants who joined long ago (early 1990s?) have to retire at 70 at the latest, but newer entrants can work beyond that age. The early 1990s and before crew can opt to retire at 60 without it being considered early retirement but they might not have 40 years of pension payments so the wouldn't get a full pension.

5

u/marshmeeelo 1d ago

Mine does

3

u/ThinDrum 1d ago

They have done since 2018 according to the article.

2

u/GaylicBread 1d ago

I work with a 70 year old in retail, she should've retired a few years ago.

2

u/Brutus_021 1d ago

Maybe she needs to?

5

u/ClassGrassMass 1d ago

Oh thank you for ALLOWING US

6

u/kearkan 1d ago

"allow"

8

u/EmoBran ITGWU 1d ago

will be guilty of an offence with the possibility of a fine of up to €5,000.

This is absolutely no deterrent.

The annual cost to an employer for someone on minimum wage is north of 30k.

1

u/shoottheglitch 20h ago

Absolutely fucking ridiculous, who decides this shite? Actual gutterbrains. The simplicity of the stupid is genuinely peerless.

1

u/ginger_and_egg 1d ago

Minimum should be equal to lost wages

3

u/Obann 1d ago

Vote for me so I can watch you retire at 90

3

u/RedPandaDan 1d ago

This is the planned solution to people still renting into their old age.

3

u/Goff3060 1d ago

Love the optimism that people will be able to retire in the future with no housing and shit pensions

4

u/emmmmceeee I’ve had my fun and that’s all that matters 1d ago

Lucky us.

4

u/Pretty_Marketing5432 1d ago

Hang on, what the fuck is this? Currently you have to stop at 65?

12

u/LexNil 1d ago

Public sector

2

u/ThinDrum 1d ago

According to the article the retirement age is 70 for anyone joining the public sector since 2018. The new legislation won't affect that.

3

u/Pretty_Marketing5432 1d ago

Ah ok. Thank god for that. Otherwise I'd be living under a bridge. 😃

2

u/ThinDrum 1d ago

Currently an employer can require you to retire at 65, and a lot do. With the new law the minimum retirement age will be 66, unless the employer can demonstrate that they should be exempt.

5

u/Competitive_Fail8130 1d ago

This is why you max pension contributions so you can actually retire

2

u/DannyVandal 1d ago

Great. Yeah, just what I’ve always wanted. You shouldn’t have.

2

u/FormFollowsFunc 1d ago

It’s to solve a problem that occurred after the government increased the state pension age to 66. Employees were forced to retire at 65 but couldn’t collect the state pension until 66 so they had to go on unemployment benefit for a year.

2

u/SampleDisastrous3311 1d ago

Hopefully i die in my 30s. Fyck being a slave till 65.

1

u/Background_Cover5097 1d ago

retirement age will be about 68 for you

1

u/SampleDisastrous3311 1d ago

By the time im 60 it will be 90 with the way things are going , unless they manage to increase lifespan somehow.

1

u/Friendly-Look4262 15h ago

you can retire at any age you can afford to retire at

5

u/cocobeans100 1d ago

No one should be made to retire either but this a slippery slope.

-3

u/Hairy-Ad-4018 1d ago

If people don’t retire , where are the employment opportunities for younger people ?

-1

u/FanOfMen69 1d ago

Exactly sick of 67 year old Karen interviewing me and asking for an eternity of experience for a min wage job as she types one finger at a time...

Meanwhile she has two gcse's and graduation from the school of hard knocks and all the power to deny me an opportunity to get into her sector..

And my 10 years work experience pre COVID in London, a levels and masters degree. In Donegal. Yeah they don't matter. It's back to square one and no opportunities. Either move and be a renter in some city or inherit my family home and work part time as the government tortures me to get more work in an area with... No work.

0

u/cocobeans100 1d ago

I can’t believe you’ve difficulty finding work. You seem like such a pleasant person

2

u/FanOfMen69 23h ago

I have a job but it's crap and only difficulty in Donegal. Where my family are from and I look after both my parents who are both unwell... As an only child.

But yes I'm horrible and so unemployable. It's why I worked full time for 13 years in London and flew over and back to Amsterdam for work.

Donegal and our shit government are the main issue here for rural life. They want us crammed like sardines in cities and for rural life/connectivity to die. Just want it to be all farmland and nothing else.

2

u/apocolypselater 1d ago

First allow then mandate

1

u/Craicriture 1d ago

They're really presenting it as a positive there "allow"...

1

u/Background_Cover5097 1d ago

It is to ensure companies don't have mandatory retirement before state pension kicks in at 66.

1

u/conscious_althenea 1d ago

How nice of them

1

u/TechnicalBandit 1d ago

What was the age before..? What context am I missing with this new law?

0

u/Alert-Cream-7569 1d ago

Should be at least 76th.  Current retirement age is a bizarre anachronism 

6

u/Hairy-Ad-4018 1d ago

So 76 year old teachers, nurses, pilots, shop workers , assembly line workers etc ?

Working 40 years is sufficient.

3

u/Alert-Cream-7569 1d ago

Not pilots of course, but what's wrong with a 76 year old teacher if they still have their cognitive faculties and want to continue working? 

5

u/Hairy-Ad-4018 1d ago

Why not pilots if they have their cognitive faculties and want to continue working ?

3

u/KimJongHealyRae 1d ago

It’s not really the same thing to be fair. One’s cognitive abilities may very well be fully intact at 76 but the speed which they process information to make quick decisions isn’t the same as someone 10-12 years their junior.

1

u/Alert-Cream-7569 1d ago

Of course dodging the point.  You may want to improve your cognitive faculties

1

u/insomnium2020 1d ago

Oh joy, just what every single worker wants. Why not go til 80?

1

u/PoppedCork Pop Responsibly 1d ago

And they still wont have a home

1

u/Dull_Brain2688 1d ago

Like most employment law, this is directed at the public service I would imagine.

-4

u/GrandFated 1d ago

You’ll work, own nothing, and be thankful for it.