Civil servants appointed before 5 April 1995 pay social insurance contributions at a reduced rate giving cover for a limited range of benefits including widows-widowers contributory pension, orphans payments, limited occupational injuries benefits, bereavement grant and carer's benefit. They are not insured for old age contributory or retirement pensions. Similar arrangements apply to many other public servants appointed before the date in question.
Civil servants were not insured at the full rate because it was considered that their conditions of employment and their occupational pension arrangements made adequate provision for their old age and other contingencies, such as unemployment and sickness, normally covered under full rate social insurance contributions. Civil servants appointed on or after the 5 April 1995 do pay social insurance contributions at the full rate, which gives entitlement to contributory pensions. However, changes have been made to their occupational pensions which are now integrated with the social welfare pension.
It is not possible to say how many people who paid modified rate insurance are refused pension each year. However, it is thought that the number refused is small as, generally speaking, the people concerned do not submit applications.
It is tentatively estimated by the Department of Finance that there are about 50,000 former public servants who paid modified insurance contributions receiving public service pensions at present. Many of these may not yet have reached the qualifying age for social welfare old age pensions and others may be receiving social welfare pensions. In this connection, I understand former public servants who made full rate contributions at the beginning of their working lives are one of the groups benefiting from the pre-53 pension which I introduced in May 2000.
In the absence of accurate information on the ages of existing public service pensioners or their current status vis-à-vis the social welfare system it is not possible to give an estimated cost of providing them with contributory pensions.
