Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 9 September 2020
110. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if public sector pensions will be increased in line with public sector pay increases; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22841/20]
View answerAs the Deputy may be aware, the Single Public Service Pension Scheme introduced for new entrants to the public service from 1 January 2013 onwards is a career average pension scheme which provides that both the referable amounts that are accrued by serving staff while in employment, as well as pensions in payment, are uprated in line with changes in the consumer price index.
As regards the pre-existing public service pension schemes (i.e. all pension schemes apart from the Single Scheme), the current pension increase policy was agreed by the previous Government in 2017 under the Public Service Stability Agreement 2018-2020 (PSSA).
Under this policy, which applies for the duration of the PSSA, pay increases granted to serving staff over the course of the PSSA are passed on to those pensions awarded under pre-existing public service schemes where the salary on which the pension is based does not exceed the salary of serving staff with the same grade and scale point, after the pay increase has been applied.
If it qualifies, the pension is eligible for an increase to the extent that this will ensure alignment with the pay of serving staff. The most recent guidance issued by my Department on the matter is Circular 19/2019, which is available online at: https://www.gov.ie/en/circular/b5d982-circular-192019-further-instruction-on-the-pension-increase-policy-i/.
Finally, I note that the question asks about pension increases in the ‘public sector’, which is generally understood as including the commercial semi State bodies. Under the various pension scheme rules operational to such bodies, in the first instance, it is matter for the Government Department under whose aegis responsibility for individual commercial semi State Bodies falls to consider and approve any pension increase sought, with the consent of the Minister of Public Expenditure and Reform. Obviously, as part of such decisions, account must also be taken of the overall funding position in the relevant pension funds prior to taking any decisions on pension increases. The impact of pension increases on the sustainability of pension funds is an important overall consideration.
