Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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248. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will report on the size of the fund that would be required to finance all Exchequer funded pensions currently in payment if they had been financed on a funded basis rather than on a current account basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5748/15]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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An actuarial valuation was carried last year by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to estimate the accrued liability in respect of Public Service occupational pensions.  A report on the actuarial exercise carried out last year is contained on the Department of Public Expenditure web site at .

The key result of the exercise is that the total accrued liability in respect of Public Service occupational pensions is now estimated at €98bn as at December 2012. This compares with the previous estimate of €116bn for 2009 which was arrived at by the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG). Therefore, over the three years from 2009 to 2012 the liability has fallen by €18bn or by 16%. The main reasons for the reduction were the pay and pension cuts since 2009 and the freeze in pay and pension rates until after the Haddington Road Agreement.

This figure of €98bn represents the present value of all expected future superannuation payments to current staff and their spouses in respect of service to December 2012, plus the liability for all future payments to current and preserved pensioners and to their spouses.  The pension payments to discharge this liability will therefore be spread over the next 70 years or so.

Historically Public Service pension increases were on the basis of pay parity i.e. in line with the pay of the grade from which the public servant retired. The figure of €98bn above was based on pay parity applying in future. An alternative accrued liability figure was also estimated; this was based on pension increases in line with CPI (after 2016) and the associated accrued liability figure was €82bn.

The accrued liability figures set out above provide a broad indicator of the size of fund that would be needed to provide for Public Service pension benefits in the event that a fund were to be established for public service occupational pensions. In contrast, future pension payments will be paid for on an ongoing basis from the State's income, which also includes the employee pension contributions made by serving public servants.  In assessing the affordability and sustainability of public service pension costs met on a "pay as you go" basis, a key measure in addition to the overall liability is the expected level of actual total annual spending on pensions in future years relative to an indicator of income like GDP.  Latest projections are for the total expenditure on public service pensions, if the link to pay is maintained, to increase from 2.3% of GDP in 2015 to 2.9% in 2030 and then to fall steadily to 1.5% of GDP by 2060.  This reduction in annual costs in the longer term is largely due to the introduction by the current Government of the new Single Public Service Pension Scheme, which changed the benefits for public servants appointed from 1 January 2013.

Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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249. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will report on the level of funding that would be required to fund the pension entitlements of departmental Secretaries General, Assistant Secretaries, principal officers and Heads of State agencies, if their pensions were being financed on a funded basis rather then a current account basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5749/15]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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Public Service superannuation schemes are funded on a pay as you go basis and therefore my Department does not have the information sought by the Deputy.

An actuarial valuation was carried last year by my Department to update the accrued liability in respect of Public Service occupational pensions generally.  The calculation underpinning this exercise was carried out on an aggregate basis.  There was no estimation of, accrued liability or funding requirements in respect of individual grades.