Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 15 December 2021
61. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Minister for Finance the details of non-financial or pension supports and resources being made available directly or indirectly through his Department and bodies under his aegis to those who are preparing for retirement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62227/21]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy that my Department funds pre-retirement courses for staff planning their retirement. The goal of this 2-day course is to provide participants with an overview of the wide-ranging changes associated with retirement, as well as advice regarding personal retirement planning. Funding is also provided for a guest or family member to attend this training with the staff member, if required. The course is facilitated through the Civil Service OneLearning training platform.
Details in respect of the bodies under the aegis of my Department which provide non-financial supports to those preparing for retirement are set out below.
I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that the pension process for Revenue staff is managed by the National Shared Service Office (NSSO). The NSSO web portal, which can be accessed from a link on the desktop of each Revenue staff member, provides information on both the retirement process and pensions. OneLearning, which comes under the aegis of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (D/PER), provides a Retirement Planning course which is available to Revenue staff members. The two-day course addresses queries and concerns which participants may have and includes topics such as planning for change, social engagement, civil service pensions, finance and money, taxation, legal issues and health and wellbeing. In addition, Revenue provides pensions information for staff through their internal intranet. his information includes links to the relevant D/PER circulars, FAQs and details of the internal dispute resolution process for pension appeals. Revenue has, within their Corporate Services Division, a dedicated Superannuation Team that provides assistance to staff with the retirement process.
The Central Bank in-house pension team provide information on the Central Bank pension scheme to staff. Staff can also plan for their retirement using the member specific online pension calculator tool which allows staff to estimate benefits at various retirement ages. A 2 day pre-retirement course is also available to staff wishing to plan for their retirement. The course content includes Change, Finance, Healthy Living, Social Welfare, Legal, Mental Stimulation, Social Engagement and Developing a Personal Plan.
The staff of the Investor Compensation Company DAC are Central Bank employees, and as such, can avail of the supports detailed above by the Central Bank.
In October 2021, the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman provided a pre-retirement planning seminar for its staff to prepare for approaching retirement, at a total cost of €2,546 (incl. VAT).
The National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) provides HR services to the National Asset Management Agency, Home Building Finance Ireland and the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland. As it was not possible for the NTMA to respond to this information request in the time available, I have referred the question to them for direct reply.
