Written answers

Tuesday, 15 November 2011

Department of Education and Skills

Vocational Education Committees

9:00 pm

Photo of Mary Lou McDonaldMary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 171: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the name, position and a breakdown of the retirement packages for all vocational education committees chief executive officers eligible to retire before the end of February 2012. [33998/11]

Photo of Seán BarrettSeán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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There are 33 Vocational Education Committees of which 22 have permanent Chief Executive Officers and 11 acting Chief Executive Officers in position.

The information requested by the Deputy is not held within my Department, and as each individual VEC is a separate employer it would involve an inordinate amount of administrative time to compile.

However, I can inform the Deputy that the following conditions and criteria would apply to any CEO that is eligible to retire.

Standard Retirement provisions for Officers employed by VECs

(1) An Officer who is not a new entrant must retire at the end of the school year following attainment of age 65.

(2) An Officer who is not a new entrant and has reached the age of 60 may retire on pension at any time thereafter.

(3) Under the Public Service Superannuation Act 2004, compulsory retirement age has been abolished in the case of new entrants to the public service. Correspondingly, pension is not payable to new entrants to most sectors of the public service, until age 65. A new entrant is a person who commences employment in the public service on or after 1 April 2004 or who, following a break of more than 26 weeks, returns to employment in the public service on or after 1 April 2004.

(4) A scheme of cost-neutral early retirement based on actuarial reductions, was introduced in 2005. The scheme will permit retirement between age 50 and 60, (between 55 and 65 for new entrants). Retirees on cost neutral early retirement will get a reduced lump sum and pension from the date of retirement, the payments are the payments that would be made when the member reaches age 60 or 65 actuarially reduced.

Standard Retirement benefits for Officers employed by VECs

(1) On retirement, a member of the Scheme, who has at least 2 years' pensionable service (reduced from 5 years with effect from 2 June 2002), will receive a Retirement Gratuity in the form of a lump sum.

(2) With effect from 1 January 2011, overall lifetime limit on tax free lump sum is €200,000. Any excess amount over €200,000 is taxed at standard rate of tax up to €575,000. Any excess over €575,000 is taxed at individual's marginal rate of tax.

(3) The value of the lump sum is 3/80th of pensionable remuneration at retirement (PR) for each year of pensionable service, subject to a maximum of 1.5 times PR.

(4) He will also receive a Pension which will be subject to tax. For Officers liable for the Class D rate of PRSI, the value of the pension is 1/80th of PR for each year of pensionable service, subject to a maximum of half of PR.

(5) For Officers liable for the Class A rate of PRSI, the pension payable is co-ordinated with social welfare entitlements. The value of the co-ordinated pension is, with effect from 1 January 2004, 1/200th of PR up a threshold of 3 and one third times the maximum personal rate of State Pension (Contributory) + 1/80th of any PR exceeding that threshold.

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