The Pension Promise Campaign say the state pension rate will remain a "political football" in the annual budget unless the government introduces automatic increases.
The group which includes trade union SIPTU, Age Action, and the National Women’s Council are meeting in the city today the discuss the issue.
They say proposals to increase the state pension to 34 per cent of average earnings were first proposed in 1998 and are calling for the pension to be increased by €53 a week.
Speaking to RedFM News, Policy Specialist with Age Action, Nat O’Connor says benchmarking the state pension with average earnings will give certainty to older people:
"It's great that people got the €12 in January. But it was a cut in real terms, because the spending power of the pension today is now nearly €20 down of what it was in 2020. So we need the state pension first of all to keep up with the cost of living, but to have the security of knowing that it's going to be pegged to average earnings, that you'll know where you're at in five years and 10 years. So it's that certainty is what we're looking for with the 34% of average earnings."
