Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 24 October 2018
82. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform when the Public Service Superannuation (Age of Retirement) Bill 2018 will be brought to Dáil Éireann; if the qualification for the application of the Bill will be backdated to when the Bill was published rather than the date on which the Bill will be enacted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43917/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra83. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform when legislation to increase the compulsory retirement age for public servants will be introduced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43831/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra90. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of public sector employees over 65 years of age that have been allowed carry on in their positions of work; if they continue on the rate of pay they were on when reaching 65 years of age; if not, if the rate differs; if so, the criteria used to set the pay rate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43879/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 82, 83 and 90 together.
The Public Service Superannuation (Age of Retirement) Bill 2018, which was published on 9 July, provides for an increase in the compulsory retirement age to 70, for the majority of public servants recruited prior to 1 April 2004. These public servants generally have a compulsory retirement age of 65 at present, which is provided for under statute. The Bill passed all stages in the Seanad on 17 July and is provisionally scheduled for Second Stage in the Dáil on the 25th of this month. The Bill is being treated as a priority with the intention of securing enactment as soon as possible in the current term.
Interim arrangements are in place to accommodate public servants who reach the age of 65 before the commencement of the Bill. The interim arrangements, which have to respect the current statutory position of the compulsory retirement age of 65, allow pre 2004 public servants to retire and be rehired for one year only, until they reach the age of 66. Existing retire and rehire arrangements operating in the various sectors are being used to facilitate affected public servants.
On the issue of whether the legislation will be backdated to the date of publication of the Bill, I appreciate that there are individual public servants who have availed of the interim arrangements, whereby they have been facilitated to remain at work between the age of 65 and 66, and who would like to be covered by the new legislation. Unfortunately, this is not something that can be facilitated. The legislation will come into effect from the date of its commencement. Until then, the current statutory position of the compulsory retirement age of 65 must be respected. This requires public servants to retire at the age of 65 and those availing of the interim arrangements have done so and received their pension benefits, subject to pension abatement.
On that basis they are in a different position to those existing public servants who reach the age of 65 after this legislation has commenced. If the interim arrangements had not existed, those availing of the interim arrangements would have had to cease working at age 65.
The general policy across the public service, subject to overall policy considerations including the demand for scarce skills etc., is that where a retired employee is re-hired, they are paid at the minimum point of the relevant scale, rather than at the pay point they had reached when they retired. This practice is continuing in the context of the interim arrangements. In most cases, the combination of the pension in payment and the new salary brings the person back up to the income level they had reached before they retired. However, after the date of commencement of the Bill, the interim arrangements will no longer be required as public servants reaching the age of 65 will be able to remain at work up to the age of 70, if they so wish, on current terms and conditions. Incremental progression will continue up to the date of retirement and additional service will count towards pension accrual subject to the statutory maximum of 40 years.
In terms of the numbers of public servants who have availed of the interim arrangements, I would not have access to numbers for the individual public service sectors. In the Civil Service, for which I have responsibility, I am aware that fewer than 100 people availed of retention in the six months after the arrangements were announced.
