Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Government agreed that the compulsory retirement age of most public servants recruited before 1 April 2004 should be increased to 70 and that such additional service would continue to accrue retirement benefits, subject to the maximum of 40 years' service. This was provided for in the Public Service Superannuation (Age of Retirement) Act 2018, which passed in the House just before Christmas and which is the responsibility of my colleague the Minister for Finance and for Public Expenditure and Reform. Community employment, or CE, participants and supervisors are employees of private companies in the community and voluntary sector. My Department is not the employer of CE participants or supervisors and such employees are not public servants but are employees of the sponsoring organisations involved. They are not, therefore, subject to the changes recently introduced for public servants who can now work until they are aged 70. Funding for the employment of supervisors on community employment is available until the supervisor reaches the State pension age.

The Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2011 provided for the necessary amendments to increase the State pension age in line with the national pensions framework. It provided for an increase in the qualification age for the State pension from 66 to 67 from 2021 and a further increase to 68 years from 2028. It is open to CE supervisors to remain on CE until the working day before the birthday on which they reach State pension age as follows; 66 for those born before 1 January 1955; 67 for those born on or after 1 January 1955; and 68 for those born on or after 1 January 1961. I trust this clarifies the matter.

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