Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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147. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the reason Ability West, Galway County Association is not a member of the Public Sector Transfer Network despite giving financial recognition and increments for years of service (details supplied). [21742/16]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The Public Sector Transfer Network allows employees to transfer service from one member organisation to another. The legislative provision for this is Section 4 of the Superannuation and Pensions Act 1963.  It provides for the transfer of pensionable service in the case of staff transfers between the Civil Service and "approved organisations", and between one "approved organisation" and another. The Act provides that the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform may, by Statutory Instrument, designate an organisation as an "approved organisation" for the purpose of that Section.  Membership of the Transfer network is entirely voluntary and organisations may, if they wish, apply to join provided they have a pension scheme which would be considered compatible with Public Service pension arrangements and could comply with the rules of the Transfer Network.  Ability West is not currently a member of the Public Service Transfer Network.

Where a person has preserved superannuation benefits with a non-member of the Transfer Network and that scheme is prepared to pay a Transfer Value to the person's current pension scheme, the individual may be credited with service equivalent to the converted service value of the amount received using the purchase of notional service tables. This is a transfer of benefits rather than service so year-for-year credit does not apply.  If Ability West has a pension scheme and the individual in question has preserved benefits in the scheme, or indeed in a scheme with any other former employer(s), they might wish to consider pursuing this option.