Luke Flanagan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)
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Question 174: To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide an actuarial breakdown of the extra yearly cost to the Exchequer for pensions awarded to those public servants who can retire at 50 years instead of 68 years; if these costs may be reconsidered due to the fact that civil servants retire at a much earlier age than ordinary workers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28339/11]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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Most Civil Servants recruited before 1 April 2004 may retire with immediate payment of pension from age 60. For those recruited to the Civil Service on or after 1 April 2004 (excluding Prison Officers) the minimum pension age is 65. Prison Officers recruited prior to 2004 may retire and receive immediate pension from age 50 provided they have completed 30 years service in the Prison Service. For those recruited since 2004 the corresponding minimum pension age is 55.

Civil Servants, who resign within 10 years of reaching the relevant preserved pension age, can apply for the immediate payment of preserved pension and lump sum, both of which will be actuarially reduced. Early retirement is also available on grounds of ill health. The new Public Service Single Pension Scheme proposes that the minimum pension age for future recruits to the Civil Service (other than Prison Officers) will be linked to the Social Welfare pension age. The minimum pension age for Prison Officers will not change under the new scheme.

The latest estimates on the annual cost of Civil Service occupational pension terms are contained in the Comptroller and Auditor General Report on Public Service Pensions (August 2009). This Report found that the annual gross cost for currently serving Civil Servants (excluding Prison Officers) to be 22.3% of pay. The cost for future recruits to the Civil Service was estimated to be 24.6% for established Civil Servants and 9.5% of pay for recruits with non-established pension terms. The Report found that the annual pension cost for currently serving Prison Officers was 29.6% of pay; the corresponding cost for Prison Officers recruited after 2004 was estimated at 27.8%. All these gross costs make no allowance for the pension contributions made by staff.