Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 24 October 2018
84. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his plans in respect of the establishment of a supplementary pension in relation to public service pensions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43834/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraA supplementary pension scheme has been in place since 1995 for those public servants recruited between 1995 and 2012, whose public service pension is integrated with the Contributory State Pension (CSP).
This integration with the CSP means that the public service pension paid to them is based on the assumption that they will also receive the CSP at the maximum personal rate on retirement, in addition to the occupational pension paid to them.
Where a post-1995 recruited public servant retires before reaching state pension age (currently 66, rising to 67 in 2021 and 68 in 2028) they are not entitled to the CSP until reaching that qualifying age. In these circumstances, a public servant may qualify, subject to certain eligibility conditions, for a supplementary pension to make up the difference between the amount of the occupational pension to which they are entitled and the amount they would have received if their occupational pension was not integrated.
A public service pensioner may only qualify for a supplementary pension if they are not engaged in paid employment, do not qualify for social insurance benefit or fail to qualify for such benefit at less than the maximum rate, and their failure to qualify is due to causes outside their control.
The Single Public Service Pension Scheme (Single Scheme), which was introduced on 1 January 2013 under the Public Service Pensions (Single Scheme and Other Provisions) Act 2012, applies to all first-time new entrants to the public service from that date and represented a key reform initiative aimed at securing the provision of affordable occupational pensions into the long term future in the public service.
The terms and rules of the Single Scheme – which are fundamentally different to the superannuation arrangements of all public servants recruited before 1 January 2013 – make no provision for the concept or award of supplementary pensions for any new entrants joining any public service group on or after 1 January 2013.
However, unlike the pre-existing public service pension schemes, the minimum pension age for the majority of Single Scheme members is aligned to the Contributory State Pension qualifying age and is currently set at age 66, rising to age 67 in 2021 and age 68 in 2028 while the maximum pension age upon which a Scheme member must retire is 70. I have no plans to review the provisions currently provided for under the Single Scheme.
By way of further information, 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. The Bill is being treated as a priority with the intention of securing enactment as soon as possible in the current term
