Written answers

Wednesday, 5 May 2021

Department of Public Expenditure and Reform

Pension Provisions

Photo of Niall CollinsNiall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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229. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will review correspondence from a person (details supplied) and address the issues raised; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22721/21]

Photo of Michael McGrathMichael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The issues raised in the correspondence provided by the Deputy relate to PRSI cover as well as pension scheme rules.

Firstly, in relation to PRSI class, the Government decided in 1995 that full social welfare cover should be extended to all newly appointed Civil and Public servants and that they should pay the full Class A social insurance contribution. The change was introduced by the Department of Social Protection under the Social Welfare (Modification of Insurance) (Amendment) Regulations 1995 (S.I. No. 77/1995), as amended.

This Regulation also provided that, where a person, who had previously served in the civil or public service and paid modified insurance, had a break in service they would become Class A Social Insurance contributors.

Secondly, where a person is fully insured under the Social Welfare regulations their occupational pension is generally integrated with the State Pension i.e. in calculating the pension payable to an individual account is taken of any social welfare benefits to which an individual has an entitlement. This is sometimes referred to as co-ordination with the State Pension. The aim of integration with the social insurance system is to prevent “double pensioning” where both an occupational public service pension and the State Pension Contributory would both be payable

Supplementary pensions is one particular aspect of integrated pensions which arise when a bridging payment is required to provide for an individual's overall public service pension entitlement because there can be a shortfall in this benefit in certain circumstances e.g. when a person due to causes outside his/her control, fails to qualify for social insurance benefit or qualifies for such benefit at less than the maximum personal rate. However, these payments are not automatic and subject to rules.

These integration arrangements and the rules for the payment of a supplementary pension have always existed for fully insured Civil and Public servants. For example, the relevant provision for one of the main health sector schemes is rule 9.5 in SI 362 of 2010 for the HSE superannuation scheme.

Finally, the Department of Health has overall responsibility for Health Sector public service pension schemes and is best placed to answer further detailed questions on the operation of scheme rules as there are different health sector pension schemes which can apply for psychiatric nurses depending on particular the employer involved.

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