A public meeting in Galway has heard calls for the Government to honour its commitment to a state pension rate of 34% of average earnings.
It is part of a nationwide campaign by a coalition of groups to raise awareness of pensioners struggling with the cost of living.
The Pension Promise Campaign is calling on the Government for "fair and flexible" pensions.
The five organisations involved are the Irish Senior Citizens Parliament, Age Action, SIPTU, Active Retirement Ireland and the National Women's Council.
Niamh Kavanagh from the Irish Senior Citizens Parliament said panel discussions were underway about the areas affecting State pensioners due to the high cost of living and the low pension rate at the moment.
Each of the organisations involved has a representative discussing problems that are affecting its own members since the rising cost of living, Ms Kavanagh said.
"We'll also be talking about what the Government can do to help those experiencing what we call 'pension poverty'."
The current weekly rate of the State pension is €265.30, accounting for 28% of average earnings.
The campaign says this falls €53 per week short of the Government's commitment of 34% (€318 per week) and fails to deliver on the Government’s promise to provide a basic level of pension adequacy.
SIPTU official Padraig Peyton said that older people deserve a secure retirement.
"After a life of work, the right to retire with dignity is not too much to expect. Currently, older people on fixed incomes worry about how they will afford to put food on the table and heat their homes."
"Some people are being forced to choose between food and heat. This is not acceptable in a country as wealthy as Ireland," Mr Peyton said.
"Retired and older people deserve secure adequate retirement incomes. It’s no more than they have earned after a lifetime of working and paying taxes".
CEO of Active Retirement Ireland Maureen Kavanagh said the risk of poverty has doubled and consistent poverty more than tripled since 2020.
"Older people deserve adequate and secure incomes. It's no more than they have earned after a lifetime of working, paying taxes and contributing to their communities," she added.
It is 25 years since the National Pensions Policy Initiative proposed a benchmark of 34% of gross average industrial earnings for the contributory State Pension.
Under the Roadmap for Pensions Reform 2018-2023, the Department of Social Protection was asked to develop proposals for a formal benchmark of 34% and to institute a process where future changes in pension rates would be indexed to changes in consumer prices and average wages.
The Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025, which the current Programme for Government has committed to implement rigorously, states that "this Government has committed to the introduction of a system of benchmarking rates of pension payment both to average wages and to inflation".
Benchmarking is also a recommendation of the Report of the Commission on Pensions. The Pension Promise Campaign demands that the Government honours its commitment to a state pension rate of 34% of average earnings.
The townhall meetings are taking place around the country to raise awareness and build support for the campaign.
