Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That depends on the pension scheme. The level of contribution and the level of benefit in many pension schemes of which we would all be aware are not directly related. In all the public service schemes on an actuarial basis, the level of contribution would not have supported the level of pension until very recently. There would have been a divergence of a very wide margin on that. The Deputy will recall the pension levy. It was seen as a way of collecting money from public servants and of course it was. However, it was justified at the time by the then Minister as bringing the level of contribution closer to the level of what would actuarially underpin the benefits that would derive.