Commissioner for Older People for Northern Ireland responds to proposed changes to pension triple lock
Commissioner for Older People for Northern Ireland responds to proposed changes to pension triple lock.
The Commissioner for Older People for Northern Ireland, Siobhan Casey said:
"We must be very careful not to talk about pensioners as though they are one wealthy group who can simply afford to take a hit to their income. They are not.
"Some older people have occupational pensions, savings, investments or other assets. But others are living on the State Pension with very little else to fall back on. For those people, their pension is not a bonus or an additional source of income, it is what they live on.
"Our own evidence shows that, for the poorest 40% of pensioners in Northern Ireland, more than 90% of their income comes from public benefits. That tells us very clearly that there are older people for whom changes to the State Pension can have a profound impact on their financial security."
The latest official figures show that around 26,000 pensioners in Northern Ireland were living in relative poverty in 2024/25.
The Commissioner continued:
"I am concerned about any narrative which presents older people as a uniformly wealthy generation who have done well and can therefore be expected to give something up. That simply does not reflect the reality for many older people.
"The question we should be asking is not simply whether pensioners as a group can afford a change. We need to ask who will be affected, how much they will be affected, and whether those with the least financial security are adequately protected.
"We have a responsibility to make sure that the people who are least able to withstand financial pressure are not overlooked when decisions are made about pensions."
