The Government have been dealt a blow in their proposed plans to change eligibility requirements for the state pension.
The Pensions Commission had recommended raising the pension age to 68, but an Oireachtas Committee recommended not increasing the age from 66.
Other recommendations in the committee's report include legislation banning mandatory retirement clauses in workers' contracts, while also recommending those who have built 40 years of work to access the state pension one year earlier at 65.
The report concluded that people aged 66 and over could not reasonably be asked to continue to work beyond due to increased physical and mental stress.
The pensions commission had been looking to raise the state pension age by three months per year starting in 2028.
This would mean by 2013, the pension age would increase to 67 and would be 68 by 2039 as it would increase three months every three years from 2033.
Speaking at the launch of the report, committee Cathaoirleach Denis Naughten said: "The state pension is an important part of Ireland’s social protection measures."
"It helps to prevent many of those in receipt of the state pension from entering poverty and enjoying a reasonable standard of living."
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