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Being unhealthy can be a bit of a goldmine...

An Irish pension provider is offering larger payouts to people who are, well, likely to die sooner.

shutterstock_216474037 Shutterstock / Roman Seliutin Shutterstock / Roman Seliutin / Roman Seliutin

AN IRISH PENSION provider is pushing its latest product hard towards the less healthy people in society.

Irish Life’s ‘Enhanced Annuity’ product is being specifically targeted at those with unhealthy lifestyles or a history of illness.

The ‘innovative’ pension plan offers ‘better value to customers who have experienced poor health’ according to a company release.

So… quitting smoking might not be such a good idea after all.

morbid Pictured: morbid economics.

“Based on Irish policies sold to date the most common medical conditions presented include: heart conditions, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and cancer,” says the release.

The main lifestyle issues include being overweight or underweight and a history of smoking.

Pension products like this function effectively on the company taking a punt that their client will die sooner. That being the case, the money saved on subsequent payouts can be used to subsidise other customers, or be taken as profit.

Such slightly macabre financial products have made major headway in the UK in recent years, something the Irish sector is obviously keen to replicate.

“Currently up to 54% of UK retirees benefit from increased income through this kind of product,” says Irish Life CEO David Harney.

One of our key objectives is to increase the number of Irish customers benefiting from this.
Indeed, some of our clients received a 25% enhancement in income as they had a range of medical conditions.

Sounds pretty conclusive, best get smokin’, eatin’ and diabetin’ so.

Read: People have tried to get millions in pension funds out of Ireland

Read: ‘Unfair and unjust’: Proposed hike in nursing home bills slammed

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18 Comments
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    Mute Burn Turf
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    Jun 26th 2023, 6:08 PM

    A referendum would put this issue to bed but this government knows they would lose. Irish people should vote on these issues in future not who fixed the potholes.

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    Mute Paul Furey
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    Jun 26th 2023, 6:25 PM

    @Burn Turf: I’d say there a quite a few that notice what’s going on and think we probably should be aligned with others. If Norway and Sweden are dropping neutrality (and they were is a good position to defend their neutrality) then what chance have we if someone wants to use our fair green Isle as an aircraft carrier. Switzerland can defend its neutrality, but no one will touch them thanks to their banks! Let’s not kid ourselves and be blinded by our green tinted glasses. If someone wants us, they will this strategic land of ours.

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    Mute
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    Jun 26th 2023, 6:46 PM

    @Paul Furey: It’s Finland, not Norway. Norway has been in NATO since the beginning, and Finland just joined. But otherwise I’m with you on everything else.

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    Mute Chutes
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    Jun 26th 2023, 6:50 PM

    @Burn Turf: Hasn’t it been clearly stated that the governors have no intention atm to join N.A.T.O.?

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    Mute Paul Furey
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    Jun 26th 2023, 7:09 PM

    You are right of course. Daft mistake to make. Thanks

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    Mute p m
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    Jun 26th 2023, 6:21 PM

    Endless NATO articles….nothing else happening in the world? Seems the journal does not deem young international sporting tragedies as newsworthy.

    Yesterday Robbie Keanes old strike partner, Cedric Rousell of Belgium, Coventry and Wolves, heart attack 45.

    Today 20 yr old British Ice Hockey prodigy, Alex Graham, represented GB at u18 and U20

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    Mute Tony Murphy
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    Jun 26th 2023, 10:11 PM

    @p m: Vaxx. Sssshhhh…..

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    Mute Paul Maguire
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    Jun 26th 2023, 6:46 PM

    This begs the question of why was this forum set up in the first place if it was not to promote NATO…we know a commission was set up last year at the Defence Forces all that was disgust at a forum…last year’s commission on DF mentioned many of the recommendations on this forum

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    Mute Chutes
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    Jun 26th 2023, 6:51 PM

    @Paul Maguire: Maybe they just lost their bottle.

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    Mute Roj Blake
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    Jun 26th 2023, 6:57 PM

    @Paul Maguire: it was setup to discuss security, or do you prefer to bury your head in the sand ?

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    Mute D White
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    Jun 26th 2023, 9:11 PM

    Just another box the Irish government want to tick to make them the perfect boys in Europe.

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    Mute Paul Somers
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    Jun 26th 2023, 6:22 PM

    Less protesters and more focused communication on cyber security hopefully happens tomorrow. It’s not all NATO, plenty to discuss to protect our country and neutrality.

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    Mute Roj Blake
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    Jun 26th 2023, 6:55 PM

    Common defence is common sense

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    Mute Chutes
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    Jun 26th 2023, 7:53 PM

    @Roj Blake: Has been true since the dawn of man!

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    Mute Tony Murphy
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    Jun 26th 2023, 10:14 PM

    @Roj Blake: Not necessarily. Can also drag us into conflicts not of our concern.

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    Mute Tony Murphy
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    Jun 26th 2023, 10:06 PM

    Softening us up to accept a decision already made to join in future NATO military adventures.

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    Mute Paul Furey
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    Jun 26th 2023, 10:25 PM

    @Tony Murphy: your source?

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    Mute Roj Blake
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    Jun 26th 2023, 10:53 PM

    @Tony Murphy: utter BS

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    Mute goldiefish72
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    Jun 26th 2023, 7:25 PM

    The Tankies in the Journal comments gutted that with just one day left, we haven’t joined NATO yet.
    Keep your hopes up folks, the head Tankie will get the floor tomorrow, He’s bound to bring it up.

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    Mute Paul Furey
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    Jun 26th 2023, 7:48 PM

    @goldiefish72: “Tankie is a pejorative label for communists, particularly Stalinists, who support the authoritarian tendencies of Marxism–Leninism or, more generally, authoritarian states associated with Marxism–Leninism, whether contemporary or historical.” Wikipedia. So we have Stalinists posting here…..must be those Orwell Road bots.

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    Mute eoin fitzpatrick
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    Jun 26th 2023, 8:10 PM

    No one wants to be involved in war, but when you have Hitler invading countries for fun or Putin threatening the stability of Europe, of which we are a part of an reliant on, why do we think we can just sit on the fence and say nah, we’re not helping out at all, when we are clearly aligned with one side?
    It’s a weak stance in my opinion, especially when we’re allowing US air force to refuel and stop here which makes it make even less sense.

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    Mute John Byrne
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    Jun 26th 2023, 8:08 PM

    The usual big mouths are out in force. If it can to defending this country, they’d be hiding under the bed

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    Mute Paul Furey
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    Jun 26th 2023, 8:42 PM

    “In order to work, neutrality has to be universally agreed upon” and as with the likes of Sweden, Finland and Switzerland….they are/were in a position to defend their neutrality. As for us……

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    Mute john christopher
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    Jun 27th 2023, 5:28 PM

    Let the people decide with a vote

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    Mute Dermott Russell
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    Jun 27th 2023, 2:44 PM

    this sounds like a cut price way for Ireland to outsource its defence considering in the context of a Naval force a bunch of fishing boats is all we have. In an air context well there will still be the RAF. Im guessing when we join NATO there’ll be bases set up on the west coast to close the back door into europe. To be fair its a good bit of business. we dont have the money for tanks and leftie cranks on here will blather on about money that should be spent on more worthwhile projects like their dole bonuses, so if we outsource it while formally trading in our sovereignty for a few quid then there’ll be a hullabaloo and then hopefully someone will stage a coup somewhere else and it’ll all die down.

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