Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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138. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if a special needs assistant is permitted to work until the age of 70 years if they wish to do so, the social welfare and pension entitlements of a SNA in the case that they must retire at an earlier age than 70 years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12294/21]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I wish to confirm to the Deputy that Special Needs Assistants employed by the Department of Education, who are members of the original pension scheme, are permitted to work to the age of 70, and if employed on a contract of employment that extends to that date. If they are new entrants to the original pension scheme, they are permitted to work beyond the age of 70 if their contract extends beyond this date. SNAs who are members of the Single Pension Scheme are required to retire when they reach the retirement age of 66. All SNAs are Class A PRSI contributors and will receive a pension and lump sum from my Department at retirement, and as they may also have an entitlement to an additional social welfare payment, they should make direct contact with the Department of Social Protection to establish what entitlements they may have from that Department.

If an individual scheme member has a specific pension-related query, they can contact the Pension Unit of my Department at pensions@education.gov.ie providing their name, date of birth, PPSN, and the relevant officials will then be enabled to respond with a reply tailored specifically to the individual concerned.