Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 July 2023
668. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection when she expects the Government to finalise its approach to benchmarking and indexation of pension payments, as committed to in the Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025; the reasons for the delays in finalising this approach to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35526/23]
View answerAs part of the Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025, Government committed to finalising an approach for the benchmarking and indexation of pension payments.
Last September, I announced a series of landmark reforms to the State Pension system. The measures are in response to the recommendations from the Commission on Pensions and represent the biggest ever structural reform of the Irish State Pension system.
As part of this, in line with the recommendations of the Pensions Commission, a smoothed earnings method to calculating a benchmarked/indexed rate of State Pension payments will be introduced as an input to the annual budget process and will be submitted to Government for their consideration in September each year, commencing this year.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
