Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 24:

In page 4, between lines 21 and 22, to insert the following:“Amendment of Pensions Act 1990

4. The Pensions Act 1990 is amended in section 50 by inserting the following after subsection (1D) (inserted by the Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Act 2013) as follows:

“(1E) A reduction in the preserved benefits for members with accrued service in excess of 20 years referred to in subsection (1B) shall, subject to subsection (1F), be made as follows:

(a) where the annual amount is €12,000 or less, no reduction shall be made from such annual amount;

(b) where the annual amount is greater than €12,000 and is less than €60,000, the reduction in such annual amount shall not exceed 10 per cent;

(c) where the annual amount is €60,000 or more, the reduction in such annual amount shall not exceed 20 per cent.

(1F) Where—

(a) the reduction referred to in subsection (1E) would result in the annual amount being reduced to less than €12,000, that reduction shall operate to reduce such annual amount to €12,000, and

(b) the annual amount is €60,000 or more and the reduction referred to in subsection (1E) would result in such annual amount being reduced to less than €54,000, that reduction shall operate to reduce such annual amount to €54,000.".".

This amendment advocates an alternative distribution system that I previously proposed and put forward by way of a Private Members' Bill. The Minister has introduced her own system, but since I believe it is less favourable than the one I am proposing, I wish to propose mine again. We have already discussed it at some length.

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