Pensioners who have lost up to €1,500 a year since 2012 will not be compensated for the amounts lost since then, the Government confirmed yesterday. However, the State will restore full pensions to more than 62,000 people because of a new pension regime that altered the way in which the weekly payment was calculated. Having secured approval from Cabinet, Social Protection Minister Regina Doherty, said those affected will be entitled to claim the full higher rate of pension starting from March of this year. There has been public criticism of the anomaly which has seen women and men who took time out of their careers hit with reduced State contributory pensions. This was because of a 2012 law change introduced by the Fine Gael-Labour coalition and then Social Protection Minister Joan Burton.

Source: Irish Examiner January 24, 2018 00:00 UTC