Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 230: To ask the Minister for Finance the reason civil servants have to pay 1.7% of their annual salary under the child and spouse scheme main schedule in view of the fact that an applicant may never marry or have children; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12834/07]

Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 231: To ask the Minister for Finance the amount of contributions a person has to make under the child and spouse scheme main schedule; if this payment is compulsory from a persons salary within the Civil Service; the lump sum a person will receive on early retirement or when they retire from service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12835/07]

Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 232: To ask the Minister for Finance the position in relation to the payment of the widows and orphans scheme by single people in the Public Service; the position in relation to their contributions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13355/07]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 230 to 232, inclusive, together.

The contribution rates for the Civil Service Spouses' and Children's Pensions Schemes are as follows: Scheme for Established Officers, 1.5% of Salary; Scheme for Unestablished Officers, 1.5% of net salary, i.e. salary less twice the rate of Old Age Contributory Pension, OACP.

Under current arrangements appointment to a pensionable post in the Civil Service is conditional on (i) membership of a Main Superannuation Scheme which provides for the member's own pension benefits and (ii) membership of an associated Spouses' and Children's Scheme which covers pensions for spouses and children. Compulsory membership of the Spouses' and Children's scheme is on foot of negotiated agreements between the Civil Service unions and management.

The Spouses' and Children's Schemes effectively provide insurance for contingency benefits. The schemes are designed on a group insurance basis and the member contribution rate is structured accordingly. The total cost of the schemes is borne, on a 50/50 basis, by the employer and employees. Scheme cover continues to be provided until the member's death, whether that occurs before or after retirement.

The Commission on Public Service Pensions considered the question of compulsory membership for single people and the non-refundable nature of the contributions paid by them and decided not to recommend any change in the foregoing scheme rules.

With regard to lump-sum entitlements, these benefits are paid under the main (occupational) pension schemes as opposed to the spouses' and children's schemes. Generally, entitlements are calculated as 3/80th of pensionable remuneration multiplied by the number of years reckonable service. In exceptional circumstances (e.g. ill-health retirement) officers retiring before the minimum retirement age may get additional notional years added to their actual service for pension purposes. Any outstanding contributions due to the relevant spouses' and children's scheme will, as a general rule, be deducted from the retirement lump-sum.