asked the Minister for the Public Service why pre-1968 widows of public servants are not allowed to pay the necessary contributions to enable them to qualify for full benefit under the 1968 Civil Service Widows' and Children's Pension Scheme; and the cost to the Exchequer of allowing them to qualify.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Public Service Widows.
8.
Mr. Kenny
Taking the latter part of the question first, a recent actuarial survey estimates that the capital cost, as at 31st December, 1972, of doubling civil service ex gratia pensions is £6,072,000. A further £1,281,000 would be required to meet the contingent liability in respect of the future widows of pensioners who retired before 23rd July, 1968 and who are still alive. This makes a total of £7,353,000. These figures refer only to the Civil Service, as no actuarial survey has been carried out in respect of the rest of the public service. Extending a similar benefit to other branches of the public service such as Garda, national and secondary teachers, local authorities and Defence Forces would result in a considerable increase in costs and bring the total up to around £22 million.
The pre-1968 widows proposed to pay for these increased pensions by adopting the contribution basis which applies to members of the contributory scheme. However, there is obviously a considerable difference between the contributory scheme, which is based on the insurance principle, and the ex gratia scheme where the liabilities have already matured. Accordingly, the contribution basis of the contributory scheme would not meet the cost of the ex gratia scheme. The pre-1968 widows could only meet the cost of doubling their pensions by paying capital sums, varying according to age and the amount of pension, in order to secure annuities equivalent to the extra pensions. The capital sums involved would in the majority of cases be considerably in excess of the contribution payable by an equivalent member of the contributory scheme.