Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 13 April 2017
191. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of public sector pensioners currently in receipt of a public sector pension; the annual cost of these pensions; the schedule for unwinding the public service pension reductions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18812/17]
View answerBased on data collected in respect of the end-2015 position, there are believed to be about 152,000 persons in receipt of a public service pension, including retirees and recipients of dependant pensions. The annual gross cost of paying these pensions is an estimated €3.3 billion.
The Public Service Pension Reduction (PSPR) is being significantly reversed in three stages under FEMPI 2015, with PSPR-affected pensioners getting pension increases via substantial restoration of the PSPR cuts on 1 January 2016, 1 January 2017 and 1 January 2018. When fully rolled-out from 1 January 2018, the changes will mean that all public service pensions with pre-PSPR values of up to €34,132 will be fully exempt from PSPR, while those pensioners not fully removed from the reach of PSPR will, in the majority of cases, benefit by €1,680 per year. The cost of these changes is estimated at about €90 million on a full-year basis from 2018.
