Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 November 2015
244. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the percentage reduction in the annualised amount of the public service pension for Ministers who will retire on a full combined ministerial and Oireachtas pension in 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40626/15]
View answerPublic service pensions above specific money thresholds are subject to decrease by means of the Public Service Pension Reduction (PSPR). A partial unwinding or amelioration of the PSPR cuts to pensions, in three stages and commencing on 1 January 2016, is provided for in the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Bill 2015.
The Deputy is seeking an estimate based on at least 10 years' service as a Cabinet Minister, and at least 20 years' service as a TD, those being the minimum required service blocks for full pension benefits in the Ministerial and Oireachtas pension schemes respectively. However, most persons who commence receipt of a Ministerial pension have not served long enough to reach both of those maximum pension qualifying thresholds.
Subject to that caveat, and assuming enactment of the 2015 Bill, in the event that a full-service Cabinet Minister were to retire in 2016, the annualised amount of public service pension then payable to him or her would be reduced, on account of PSPR, by €2,536, or 2.75%, to €89,762 in 2016 following application of the relevant PSPR table, as set out in the 2015 Bill.
It should be noted that the pension awarded to such a 2016 retiree would be based on the pay rates in place just before the public service pay adjustments of July 2013 under the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2013. Higher pay rates, effectively those prevailing at end-2009 just prior to the January 2010 public service pay cuts, are reflected in the public service pensions of retired Ministers whose pensions were awarded before March 2012.
