Restructuring of register being considered over pension sign-ons

The Government is considering changing the way the Live Register is structured.

Plans to release from the register about 33,000 people who sign on to retain pension entitlements are being worked out between the departments of Social Protection and Jobs and Enterprise.

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin said he knew of “people who have retired from the main banks, having paid a class A stamp throughout their careers, and, because they are not old enough to receive an old age pension, they are obliged to sign on to maintain their stamp”.