Written answers

Tuesday, 16 January 2018

Department of Public Expenditure and Reform

State Pensions

Photo of Niamh SmythNiamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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246. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the reason a person (details supplied) will not receive their pension until they reach 68 years of age. [54536/17]

Photo of John BradyJohn Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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264. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the person or body that was consulted with during the drafting of the interim arrangements put in place until such time as legislation is passed to increase the mandatory retirement age for public service employees; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55097/17]

Photo of John BradyJohn Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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265. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if the interim arrangements in place until such time as legislation is passed to increase the mandatory retirement age for public service employees will apply to those aged 66 years of age who were facilitated by their employer at 65 years of age to remain at work and now wish to remain at work beyond pension age; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55098/17]

Photo of John BradyJohn Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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266. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the reason part of the interim arrangements put in place until such time as legislation is passed to increase the mandatory retirement age for public service employees involve a pay reduction for the employee when that employee will remain in the same role; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55099/17]

Photo of John BradyJohn Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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267. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the reason part of the interim arrangements put in place until such time as legislation is passed to increase the mandatory retirement age for public service employees involve the employee being able to accrue pension contributions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55100/17]

Photo of John BradyJohn Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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268. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if particular conditions will be attached to the legislation which will increase the mandatory retirement age from 65 to 70 years of age for public service employees; if these conditions will be similar to the interim arrangements put in place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55101/17]

Photo of John BradyJohn Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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269. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his plans to introduce legislation to increase the mandatory retirement age from 65 to 70 years of age for public service employees; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55102/17]

Photo of Tony McLoughlinTony McLoughlin (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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270. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his plans to introduce the new measures to allow civil servants who wish to work past 65 years of age; if it will be applied retrospectively to persons forced to retire in 2017 when introduced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55157/17]

Photo of Charlie McConalogueCharlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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283. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if under the new mandatory retirement measures for civil servants a person would drop a scale in their pension if they worked an additional year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1535/18]

Photo of Michael McGrathMichael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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285. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if persons (details supplied) will remain on their existing salary during the extended period of employment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1574/18]

Photo of Paschal DonohoePaschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 246, 264 to 270, inclusive, 283 and 285 together.

The Government agreed on 5 December 2017 that the compulsory retirement age of public servants recruited before 1 April 2004 should be increased to age 70. This group of public servants currently have a compulsory retirement age of 65. Primary legislation will be required for the changes to be implemented. In approving the proposals, the Government also approved the General Scheme of a Bill to give effect to the changes. The Attorney General’s Office has been asked to give priority to the drafting of this legislation so that the new compulsory retirement age for pre 2004 public servants will become effective as soon as possible. The new compulsory retirement age will only apply to pre-2004 public servants who reach the age of 65 following the commencement of the new legislation.

In the meantime, the Government has approved some limited interim arrangements to apply in the period between the Government decision and the commencement of the necessary legislation. The interim arrangements (which have to respect the current statutory position of the compulsory retirement age of 65) through retirement and re-hire, will allow pre 2004 public servants who reach the age of 65 in that period to remain in employment only until they reach the age of eligibility for the State Pension (Contributory), which is currently 66. The interim arrangements will not apply in the case of public servants who, at age 65, were facilitated by their employer to remain at work until age 66, as they will have already reached the age of eligibility for the State Pension (Contributory), which is currently 66 and will remain at that age until 2021.

The policy across the public service is that, where a retired employee is re-hired, they are paid at the minimum point of the relevant scale, rather than at the pay point they had reached when they retired. This practice is continuing in the context of the interim arrangements. Pension abatement rules will, however, apply in the case of a public servant availing of the interim arrangements. Pension abatement means that the pension that has been awarded will be reduced so that the person concerned will not receive more in combined pension and salary payments than they would have received if they had remained working. Given that the person's "new" salary will be at the minimum point, there will be room through the payment of pension and the "new" salary rate so that the sum of the "new" salary rate and the pension in payment can address the difference between the minimum point of the scale and the pay point they had reached when they retired.

Under the interim arrangements, the additional service will not accrue public service pension benefits, as the primary legislation is necessary to enable this. The employee’s pension or lump sum payment will not be affected by this move to a lower pay point, as the persons will already have retired and be in receipt of their pension entitlements.

It is not intended that the practice of payment at the minimum point would apply to public servants who choose to remain beyond the age of 65 once the legislation is commenced. Those public servants will not be in the position of having retired and been re-hired. It is intended that when the legislation is enacted, it will allow for the retention of public servants who reach the age of 65 following the commencement of the legislation, on current terms and conditions. Additional service will count towards pension accrual subject to the statutory maximum of 40 years and pension entitlements will then become payable at the date of retirement.

The increase in the compulsory retirement age followed a review of the current statutory and operational considerations giving rise to barriers to extended participation in the public service workforce carried out by my Department, in consultation with public service employers. The engagement with public service employers included discussion in relation to the interim arrangements to apply in the period between the Government Decision and the commencement of the necessary legislation. Under the terms of the Public Service Stability Agreement (Para. 6.4.2) staff representatives were also consulted.

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