Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 248: To ask the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the fact that retired prison officers who re-entered the public service to continue to work face a deduction on their pension once their earnings exceed a certain low threshold; and his views on lifting or abolishing this threshold in order to encourage the continuing working contribution after the quite low retirement age which applies in the prison service. [13074/06]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

By virtue of the Pensions (Abatement) Act 1965, any civil servant or prison officer who is re-employed in the Civil Service is liable to pension abatement in situations where his or her post retirement income from the Civil Service exceeds the current income for their job prior to retirement.

The statutory abatement provisions are not a discouraging factor to post retirement re-employment. In the case of a prison officer, abatement only applies if during the period of post retirement employment, the person's total income exceeds the current equivalent of the salary and reckonable allowances they had been in receipt of while serving as a prison officer. That is their combined income from pension and their new employment can be the same, but no more, than the current value of the income of their previous job.

The Deputy may also wish to note that, in general, abatement for retired civil servants and prison officers only applies if they are subsequently re-employed in the Civil Service. Abatement would not apply if a retired civil servant or prison officer works elsewhere in the public service or in the private sector.