asked the Minister for the Public Service if he will consider giving public servants in the superannuation scheme the option of retiring on full lump sum and pension after 40 years service whether or not they have reached their sixtieth birthday; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Public Service Superannuation.
559.
The compulsory retiring age for public servants (apart from some groups) is normally 65 and most of these are entitled to retire with immediate pension at age 60, if they so wish. The conditions covering such early retirement have in fact been made more attractive in recent years by a number of improvements in superannuation terms. For example, the qualifying service for maximum lump sum has been reduced from 45 to 40 years and pensions are now increased annually in line with current salaries. In addition, persons who resign before the minimum retiring age can, provided they have at least five years' service, have their accrued entitlement to pension and lump sum preserved and brought into payment on an uprated basis at age 60. Furthermore, the revised arrangements for the transfer of pensionable service, which scheme is now being operated on a provisional basis by a large number of public sector bodies, allows public servants to reckon earlier service rendered elsewhere in the public sector provided such service complies with specified conditions. Since these improvements were introduced, the number of voluntary retirements from the civil service before the compulsory retiring age has tended to increase.
Taking account of these improvements and also of cost factors, no further measures to make early retirement more attractive are envisaged at the present moment.