Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the date on which he reduced the retirement age for the judiciary from 70 years to 65 years; and if his decision was backdated. [50312/12]

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the cost to the Exchequer in 2012 and 2013 of his decision to reduce the retirement age for the judiciary from 70 years to 65 years. [50313/12]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 132 and 133 together.

The normal age of retirement for Judges varies. For Judges of the District Court it is age 65 and it is age 70 for Judges of the Circuit Court, High Court and Supreme Court. Judges of the Higher Courts may retire once they have served for 15 years and are aged 65. The retirement age for Judges has not been lowered however Cost Neutral Early Retirement (CNER) has been made available to them at age 60.

In 2000 the Commission on Public Service Pensions recommended the introduction of CNER to allow public servants to retire with immediate payment of superannuation benefits, subject to actuarial reduction to cater for the longer period over which the benefits would be paid. Arising from this a CNER scheme was introduced for the generality of public servants in 2004. The Commission’s remit did not extend to the Judiciary and accordingly the CNER scheme did not apply to them.

At the time of the 2011 referendum on judicial remuneration, which led to the reduction of judicial salaries and the consequent reduction in pensions for those who retired/retire on or after 1 March 2012 ("the grace period"), a commitment was given that Judges would be treated in the same way as other public servants. Against this background a CNER scheme was introduced for the Judiciary giving CNER at aged 60. The Scheme was introduced on an interim administrative basis pending legislative provision being made under the Public Service Pensions (Single Scheme and Other Provisions) Act 2012. As the title suggests, the Scheme is constructed to be actuarially cost-neutral to the Exchequer.