Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The majority of public servants recruited before 6 April 1995 pay class B or class D PRSI. This cohort of staff has no entitlement to social insurance benefits such as jobseeker’s benefit, the State pension contributory, SPC, or illness benefit. Their occupational pension and lump sum forms the entirety of their pension benefit from the public service.

For all new entrants to the public service on or after 6 April 1995, the date of the introduction of full social insurance for public servants who now pay class A PRSI, and before 1 January 2013, which was the introduction of the single public service pension scheme, including members of An Garda Síochána, their pension payment comprises of three components, namely a public service occupational pension; a social insurance benefit; and, where the full rate of SPC is not payable, a supplementary pension may be payable up to value of the full State pension, subject to eligibility, by the public service employer.

Where a public service employee does not qualify for the SPC or qualifies for a social insurance benefit at less than the value of the State pension, they may be entitled to a supplementary pension, subject to certain eligibility criteria.

These conditions refer to a retired public servant not being in paid employment; a retired public servant, due to no fault of their own, failing to qualify for social insurance benefits; and a retired public servant must have reached minimum pension age or retired on grounds of ill health.

The second condition is important to ensure no duplication of payments from public funds. To verify this condition currently, prior to payment of the occupational supplementary pension, a retired public service employee must engage with the Department of Social Protection and obtain proof that they have exhausted any relevant benefits for which they may be eligible under the social insurance system.

The Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, for example, has raised this issue with me. I am aware there are some issues concerning the procedures for qualifying for the payment of an occupational supplementary pension. I am liaising with the Department of Justice and the Department of Social Protection to see if we can come up with a solution to this matter.

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