Cathal Berry (Kildare South, Independent)
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62. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform how he intends to address the inadequate occupational pension provision for serving personnel who joined the Defence Forces after 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22157/24]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The Single Public Service Pension Scheme is a statutory Public Service Career-Average Defined Benefit Pension Scheme, established on 1 January 2013 under the Public Service Pensions (Single Scheme and Other Provisions) Act 2012. The Single Scheme was established to place publicly-funded retirement benefits on a more sustainable footing in the context of longer life expectancies.

All new entrants to the public service, hired after 1 January 2013, are members of the Single Scheme.

Members of the Permanent Defence Force, firefighters, members of An Garda Síochána and Prison Officers are categorised as members of the ‘Uniformed Accrual’ cohort of Single Scheme members. The uniformed grades have certain enhanced benefits that other members of the Single Scheme do not have, in recognition of their earlier retirement age, such as early payment of scheme benefits. This enables them to accrue more Single Scheme benefits over the expected shorter public service careers in these roles.

Once members of the ‘Uniformed Accrual’ cohort reach their normal retirement age, as provided for in Section 26 of the 2012 Act, they can retire at that earlier age and receive their occupational retirement benefits accrued at a higher rate, including their retirement lump-sum and the commencement of their pension benefit payments.

Government Policy is to facilitate longer active working lives, with the social welfare system continuing to provide a safety net for those who, for health or other reasons, are not in a position to work longer. Single Scheme pension benefits are integrated with the State Pension (Contributory), as members pay Class A PRSI.

In the period between a uniformed member's retirement and the State pension age of 66, members receive pension benefits under the Single Scheme. These benefits are separate, and in addition to any future entitlement that they may have to the State Pension (Contributory) administered by the Department of Social Protection.

Whilst members of the Defence Forces and other Uniformed Accrual members have mandatory retirement ages lower than the State Pension (Contributory) retirement age, they are still able to work in other employment in the intervening period, while fully accessing their Single Scheme pension benefits (subject to abatement, where applicable).

An increased mandatory retirement age of 62 for members of the Defence Forces was recently proposed and was approved by Government. My officials are at an advanced stage of drafting the legislation to enact the necessary amendments and are working with colleagues in other relevant departments to progress through all stages of the legislative process as quickly as possible.