Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 81: To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will revoke the awarding of added years and special severance gratuity payments to current Secretaries General. [11208/12]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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The superannuation terms for Secretaries General are in line with their contractual arrangements. Currently serving Secretaries General appointed under the TLAC process have exit arrangements which are part of their terms of employment following a Government decision at the time of appointment. These may include the offer of an alternative post in the Public Service, or a severance payment and retirement on enhanced pension. The advice of the Office of the Attorney General is that the Government does not have discretion to change those terms.

The Deputy will be aware that the Government introduced a new regime to apply to new Secretaries General on completion of their term of office. Newly appointed Secretaries General, unless they have already reached pension age, will no longer benefit from immediate payment of pension and lump sum before they reach preserved pension age; nor will they benefit from notional added years for pension purposes. These are significant changes compared to the exit terms which applied to previous appointees.

In addition, a number of pension-related measures have been implemented in the Public Service which affect Secretaries General. The pay reductions introduced since 2010 will impact on pension benefits for those retiring after the end of the 'grace period', i.e. from 1 March 2012 onwards. The pensions of those retiring before that date are subject to the Public Service Pension Reduction (PSPR) which was introduced in January 2011. I also recently provided for an increase in the rate of PSPR that applies to pensions over €100,000 from 12% to 20% which will affect Secretaries General on pensions above that level.

Finally, the Public Service Pensions (Single Scheme) and Remuneration Bill to provide for a Single Public Service Pension Scheme is currently before the Oireachtas and will be implemented this year. It will introduce a pension based on career average earnings, rather than the current system of pension based on final salary, for those who will be members of the scheme.