Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 December 2004
165 Mr. Carty asked the Minister for Finance the additional superannuation benefits that are payable to a civil servant on modified social insurance whose Civil Service employment or office is abolished, other than benefits based on their actual service. [32125/04]
View answerThe superannuation provisions governing abolition of office are set out in the 1909 and 1963 Superannuation Acts. Sections 6 and 7 of the Superannuation Act 1963 provide the basis on which additional benefits may be determined.
Where an established officer retires or is removed from office in consequence of the abolition of his office there are two additional benefits that can be considered. The Minister for Finance, at his discretion, may direct that notional years be added to the period of actual service for the purposes of pension and lump sum calculation and-or that a special severance gratuity be paid to the officer concerned. The Minister makes his decision on a case by case basis, taking the particular circumstances into account. Where the Minister decides to award additional years the notional service is determined having regard to the actual service and age of the officer at the date of retirement-removal from office. The exact basis for calculating the added years and the restrictions which may apply in arriving at the appropriate figure are set out in section 6 of the Act.
Section 7 of the Act provides that the special severance gratuity, if granted, will be the lesser of half the officer's annual salary or the aggregate of the payments of salary which would have been paid to him had he remained in an established position until he reached 65 years of age or in certain cases within three months after his 65th birthday. Copies of the relevant sections of the 1963 Act are attached for the Deputy's information.
