Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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Question 793: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if she has proposals for addressing the shortfall in the pension fund of employees of a company (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12098/09]

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 794: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the steps she has taken to ensure that the pension benefits of employees of a company (details supplied) are fully secured. [12604/09]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 793 and 794 together.

Defined benefit (DB) pension schemes are required to comply with the funding standard provision set out in the Pensions Act. This funding standard requires DB pension schemes to maintain sufficient assets to enable them discharge accrued liabilities. Where schemes do not satisfy the Funding Standard, the sponsors/trustees must submit a funding proposal to the Pensions Board to restore full funding within three years.

The Government is very conscious of the pressures on employers sponsoring pension schemes, and scheme trustees, arising from the very significant losses incurred by pension funds over the last year. While 81% of DB pension schemes satisfied the funding standard at the end of 2007, it is estimated that in excess of 90% of DB pension schemes are in deficit at the moment.

As the Deputy is aware, in recognition of the current market difficulties and the challenges facing pension trustees, the Government recently announced a number of short-term measures aimed at easing the pressures felt by many defined benefit schemes. These included:

granting extra time for schemes to formulate funding proposals;

granting flexibility to the Pensions Board to allow longer periods (over 10 years) for recovery plans in appropriate circumstances;

enabling the Board to allow the term of a replacement recovery plan to extend beyond the end date of the original plan in certain circumstances; and

enabling the Board to take into account voluntary employer guarantees in approving recovery plans.

I believe that these measures will assist schemes currently in difficulty and will help to ensure the best outcomes for the scheme members themselves.

In addition, the Government is currently considering a number of options in relation to the ongoing security of occupational pensions. Any decisions in this regard will be made in the context of the National Pensions Framework which will be finalised shortly.

Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 795: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the reason a civil servant retiring at 60 years of age after 41 years' service must sign on monthly to maintain their spouses' pension entitlements should they predecease them; her views on whether this requirement impinges significantly on the retired person's freedom of movement and is unnecessarily bureaucratic; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10853/09]

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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Question 806: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the reason retired civil servants who retire at 60 years and are entitled to full pension must continue to sign on to maintain their spouses' entitlements (details supplied) in view of the extra workload that this adds to an already overstretched service; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11724/09]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 795 and 806 together.

A retired civil servant or his or her spouse may qualify for a Widows/Widowers Contributory Pension on the death of one of the couple in addition to their occupational pension. In such case the Widows/Widowers Contributory Pension would be based on the PRSI record of either the claimant or their spouse. Either the claimant or their spouse must have:

at least 156 paid contributions (paid to the date the spouse died or before their 66th birthday, whichever is earlier) and

an average of 39 paid or credited contributions in either the 3 or 5 years before the death of the spouse or before they reached pension age (66) or

a yearly average of at least 24 paid or credited contributions from the year of first entry into insurance until the year of death or reaching pension age. If this average is used then an average of 24 will entitle the spouse to a minimum pension. An average of 48 per year is required to get the full pension.

One of the qualifying conditions for credited calculations is that the person be available for and genuinely seeking work, hence the requirement for them to sign on periodically. If a person were not to sign for credited calculations between age 60 and 66, the yearly average would fall below 48, thereby reducing their spouse's pension. For this reason it is very important that anyone, including a civil servant, who retires before age 66, continues to sign for credits in order to protect their family.

In general terms, people availing of credited contributions are required to sign on monthly, but these arrangements are being reviewed by the Department with a view to introducing less frequent signing for this group.