Vol. 496 No. 6
412 Mr. Bell asked the Minister for Education and Science the plans, if any, he has to appoint extra staff to help process the arrears of parity payments due to retired teachers; the number of retired teachers paid to date; the numbers remaining to be paid; the average payment due to each retired teacher; if payments will be completed by December 1998; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23536/98]
The position in regard to staffing is that in order to implement the provisions of the PCW agreement in regard to pensions my Department has already more than doubled the permanent staff assigned to pensions and has also engaged temporary staff.
Teachers who retired prior to 1 July 1994, the earliest effective date of any of the PCW provisions, and spouses who were in receipt of pension prior to 1 July 1994, have already received an increase of 2 per cent in pension, backdated to 1 May 1996. In accordance with the terms for the payment of this amount, which was paid in January 1998, the pensioners in question are now entitled to the difference, if any, between 2 per cent and the application of the PCW provisions in their own particular circumstances.
Staff are currently engaged in calculating the amounts due under the PCW agreement to teachers who retired on or after 1 July 1994.
With regard to the average payment due, this varies in accordance with the provisions of the PCW agreement and in accordance with length of service at retirement. It will be different in the case of almost all teachers, since length of service is measured in days. The average payment made (to date) to teachers who retired prior to 1 July 1994 is about £500. The average payment made to date to teachers who retired since 1 July 1994 is about £870.
To date, payments have been issued to 7,775 teachers who retired prior to 1 July 1994 and to 1,209 teachers who retired since then.
