The Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2010 provided for the Public Service Pension Reduction (PSPR). The PSPR, commencing 1 January 2011, imposed significant reductions on public service pensions in payment, using a progressively tiered set of bands and rates with a top rate of 12% on any public service pension amount over €60,000.
The legislation was amended to increase the top rate of PSPR from 12% to 20% on the portion of any public service pension amount in excess of €100,000. Initially the PSPR was imposed separately on each public service pension where more than 1 pension was payable. However, following an amendment introduced in the Public Service Pensions (Single Scheme and Other Provisions) Act 2012, the PSPR is imposed on the aggregated value of all public service pensions held by a person who has more than one such pension.
Public service pay cuts under the FEMPI legislation, including those made by this Government, have impacted progressively so that higher earners have taken the hardest hit. These pay cuts have been fully reflected in the pensions of persons who retired from 1 March 2012 onward. The average pay cut imposed has been around 7%, but this extends to more than 20% for the highest earners, including a limited number of senior civil servants.
When account is taken of PSPR, a total of 35 former senior civil servants have been identified with a pension of €100,000 or more, see following table. This is out of a total of some 16,228 civil service pensioners and a reduction of over 50% compared to the number (79) identified as in receipt of a pension in excess of €100,000 net of PSPR in 2011. As a matter of policy, waivers of pay or pension by serving or former public servants are not disclosed.
|
No
|
Annual Net of PSPR
|
|
2
|
100,651.50
|
|
1
|
102,145.73
|
|
1
|
104,361.49
|
|
1
|
104,815.35
|
|
1
|
105,039.21
|
|
1
|
106,078.25
|
|
23
|
107,228.63
|
|
5
|
118,642.80
|
