Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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105. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the provisions that exist for Department employees such as special needs assistants to continue to work beyond the age of 65 years of age if they wish to do so; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25153/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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In accordance with the superannuation scheme for Non-Teaching Staff operated by my Department special need assistants, who have had continuous employment which commenced prior to the 1st April 2004 must retire at the end of the school year in which they reach age 65. Special Needs Assistants who commenced employment between 1st April 2004 and 31st December 2012 are considered “new entrants” under the Public Service Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2004 and do not have a compulsory retirement age. Special Needs Assistants who commenced employment on or after the 1st January 2013 are members of the Single Public Service Pension Scheme which specifies a maximum retirement age of 70 years.

There is a provision in Circular 41/2011 which enables a retired SNA to be employed by a school post retirement: 'Where an SNA who is retired and is in receipt of a pension returns to the position of an SNA on or after 1 January 2011, s/he will start on the first point of the post 1 January 2011 incremental salary scale”. Where a Special Needs Assistant retires on reaching mandatory retirement age, and is subsequently re-employed within a period of 26 weeks after retirement this new employment will be in a non-pensionable capacity. If however the person had retired on a voluntary basis before reaching mandatory retirement age and returns within a period of 26 weeks s/he will return to the pension scheme of which they were a member (unless they reached mandatory retirement age in the interim). If a Special Needs Assistant who retires either voluntarily or on reaching mandatory retirement age and is subsequently re-employed but has a break in service of more than 26 weeks s/he will become a member of the Single Public Service Pension Scheme (unless they reached age 70 in the interim).