Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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54. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the status of payments to persons reaching 65 years of age who were born after April 1955 and who must wait until 67 years of age for a State pension and who must sign on for a jobseeker's benefit or a jobseeker's allowance in the interim years; if he will enable those persons to receive a State payment without being means-tested for the second year, given their social protection contributions during their working lives, given the status of those social protection clients employed by local authorities who insist retirement must occur at 65 years of age and prevent employees from remaining in employment until 67 years of age; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46535/15]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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At the outset, the Deputy may wish to note that overall policy in relation to the terms and conditions of employment of civil and public servants, including the age at which they may be required to retire, and the public service pension they may qualify for, are the responsibility of my colleague, Mr Brendan Howlin, T.D. Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.

The Social Welfare and Pensions Act, 2011 provides that State pension age will be increased gradually to 68 years. This began in January 2014 with the standardising of State pension age for all at 66 years and the cessation of State pension transition. The State pension age will increase to 67 years in 2021 and to 68 years in 2028.

I am informed by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform that the specific compulsory retirement age and minimum pension age provisions which affect an individual public servant will reflect his or her particular employment sector and time of original recruitment. Public servants who must retire at age 65 can draw their public service pension at age 65. The State pension changes have no impact on such persons where they are in the modified social insurance category.

Where alternatively they are in the full social insurance category, their public service pensions (and contributions) are, as with many occupational schemes, integrated (or co-ordinated) with social welfare benefits. This means the occupational pension paid is based on the assumption that the pensioner also receives the State pension. The State pension (contributory) entitlement is calculated with reference to the complete PRSI record, including contributions made while working in the public and private sectors.

In the case of retirements of fully insured public servants at age 65, a discretionary supplementary pension may be payable under the rules of the public service scheme to bridge the gap until State Pension commencement at age 66 years. This supplementary pension is only payable where the individual, through no fault of his own or her own, does not qualify for social welfare benefit or qualifies at less than the maximum personal rate. It is therefore necessary to claim the available social welfare benefits in order to receive a supplementary pension. This situation is not new and already applies to public servants with a retirement age below 65 years.

The current provisions, which apply to someone claiming jobseeker’s benefit from a date after their 65th birthday, is that they may continue to be eligible for that payment until reaching pension age. While this is currently up to their 66 birthday, this approach will continue to extend their jobseeker’s benefit entitlement continuing for another year when the pension age rises to 67, and indeed a further year when it rises to 68 in 2028. This eligibility is of course still subject to satisfying conditions such as the ‘genuinely seeking work’ condition.