Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 February 2019
187. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if a person in receipt of a pension under the Local Government (Superannuation) (Consolidation) Scheme 1998 is in a position to benefit from the public service stability agreement; if pensions in payment under this scheme are subject to increases in line with relative salaries; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5425/19]
View answerThe Government have approved public service pension increases under the pension increase policy adopted for the period to end-2020 as part of the Public Service Stability Agreement 2018-2020 (PSSA) . The principle of pay parity underlies this pension increase policy. This means that the pay increases agreed as part of the PSSA, and legislated for in the Public Service Pay and Pensions Act 2017, are passed on to pension recipients to bring the salary on which their pension is based up to the current salary rate of those still serving, after the pay increases have been applied to serving staff. Pension recipients qualify to receive an increase if the salary on which their pension is based is lower than the current salary rate of those still serving in the same grade and on the same scale point.
As the Local Government (Superannuation) (Consolidation) Scheme 1998 (LGSS) is a pre-existing public service pension scheme, pensions payable under the scheme are eligible to attract pension increases in accordance with this policy.
The administration of the LGSS falls under the remit of The Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, and so I would advise the Deputy to direct any questions regarding the practical implementation of the pension increase policy for the LGSS to that Department.
