asked the Minister for the Public Service when it is expected to introduce the necessary legislation and to complete outstanding measures necessary to facilitate the transferability of pension rights within the public service; and if he will ensure that any public servant, who may retire before completion of the scheme of transferability, will not be disadvantaged by reason of non-completion of these arrangements.
Written Answers. - Public Service Pension Rights.
411.
The answer to the first part of the question is that the final draft of a comprehensive scheme for transferring service for superannuation purposes was circulated to organisations covered by the existing arrangements for transferring pension rights in April of this year asking them to indicate whether they accepted its terms. Other public sector organisations were also circulated. Replies from a number of organisations are still outstanding and, when these have been received and certain matters raised by other organisations have been clarified, arrangements will be made for the formal implementation of the scheme and the enactment of the necessary legislation. Every effort is being made to expedite replies from the organisations concerned.
As regards the second part of the question the position is that the terms of the scheme provide that organisations may participate with effect from a date, not earlier than 1 June 1973, of their own choosing. A person transferring between two participating organisations on or after the relevant operative date would automatically benefit; the scheme may also be applied, at the discretion of the final employing organisations, to persons who transferred before the operative date and are still serving on that date, and, in so far as their pensions are concerned, to persons who retired before the operative date. Accordingly, a public servant with service in two or more organisations which join the new scheme would not be disadvantaged by reason of the fact that he retires before completion of the arrangements for introducing the scheme.