9000 pensioners to benefit from christmas bonus

Over 9,000 pensioners in Westmeath are set to benefit from a Christmas bonus this year.

The 25% bonus, which was announced in last month’s budget and will be paid to all social welfare recipients, is one of the key points in a new information campaign launched this week that advises elderly people on how the budget affects them.

The bonus will ease “the financial strain” on people in the run up to Christmas, according to Deputy Willie Penrose.

“Christmas can be a time of greater financial strain for people, especially those on fixed incomes, and this payment will offer them some extra leeway with their personal budget ahead of the busy Christmas period. Pensioners, carers, jobseekers and those in receipt of one-parent family payment in the county will benefit from this Christmas bonus.”

The information campaign will target 80,000 pensioners nationwide over the next few weeks through a series of information leaflets, local radio interviews and social media activity.

“Sometimes in the aftermath of the budget, information about certain measures and their impact can get lost in the noise, which is why we have decided to launch an awareness campaign for pensioners. It’s important they have clarity on how exactly the budget benefits them and Ministers Burton and Lynch will be to the forefront of this effort,” Deputy Penrose says.

“Not only will the partial restoration of the Christmas bonus benefit our pensioners, but they will also be helped by an increase in the Living Alone Allowance, from €7.70 to €9 a week. It may be a small increase, but it’s the first increase of its kind since 1996 and underlines how we want to support the elderly in our communities.

“I know from being out and about in the constituency that people are beginning slowly to feel the benefit of the recovery in their pockets and I very much want older people in this county to be fully part of that.