In the Civil Service pension scheme, the rule which provides that allowances are pensionable only if they are paid during the final three years of service is contained in the Superannuation Acts which govern the scheme — the specific statutory provision from which the rule derives is section 28 of the Superannuation Act, 1834.
I should add that this rule is not confined to the Civil Service but is a standard feature of pension schemes throughout the entire public sector. Broadly similar arrangements apply in the case of private sector pension schemes.
The total number of retired civil servants whose pensions are based on allowances in addition to basic salary is approximately 1,500. This figure includes some 230 retired members of the prison service.
A summary of the various rules governing Civil Service pensions, including the rules concerning the reckoning of allowances, is contained in a booklet produced by my Department entitled Civil Service Superannuation: Your Questions Answered. This booklet is available to all civil servants, and any supplementary information which an individual officer may require can be obtained from the personnel section of his-her Department.
As indicated above, the current rules governing the reckoning of allowances for pension purposes are of long standing and apply across the public sector as a whole. In these circumstances, and bearing in mind the cost implications for the Exchequer and other public sector employers, I do not consider that a change in these rules would be warranted.
