Monday 30 March 2009

The National Pensioners Convention (NPC) today announces the details of its Belfast Rally, which is part of a UK-wide day of action across 50 cities which will highlight the inadequacy of the current state pension.

This rally is supported by the Age Sector Platform and the Northern Ireland Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.

The rally will take place on:

Monday 6 April 2009 @ 1pm

Belfast City Hall  

The rally will be addressed by prominent speakers including:

Nigel Dodds MP

John Corey, Chair of the NI Committee of the ICTU

Bill Carson, Chair of the Age Sector Platform

The event will be chaired by Dorothy Hanna, President of the NI region of the NPC. 

The rally is timed to coincide with the day of the annual increase of the state pension. Dorothy Hanna today urged a meeting of age activists to make their presence felt next Monday, saying:

“On Monday 6 April 2009, the basic state pension will rise by just £4.55 a week and £2.70 for millions of women who rely on their husband’s contributions. This will raise the pension to a mere £95.25 for a single pensioner. Such a low state basic pension means millions of pensioners remain on means-tested benefits and today’s workers face poverty when they retire.

“Only a decent state pension provides an effective and reliable way of guaranteeing real financial security in retirement. The UK government has a pension fund which is more than adequate to give every pensioner a raise of £50 per week. Just imagine the impact on our small business and local shops if an extra £15 million of spending power were available every week. That would be the impact for the local economy if 300,000 Northern Ireland state pensioners received their just reward.

“The NPC is delighted to acknowledge the support we have received from our local politicians and broader civil society for our part of the UK-wide day of action for a decent state pension.”

Further details of the Day of Action can be found at www.npcuk.org.