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Superannuation Handbooks Updated December 07
Irish Civil Service Pensions Information Centre

Protection from pay reductions for certain pensions under the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (No.2) Act 2009 – as amended by the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2010.


1.  The Minister for Finance signed the Public Service Pension Rights Order 2011 (S.I. No. 80 of 2011) on 23 February 2011. This specified 29 February 2012 as the end-date for the so-called ‘grace period’ within which pensions are unaffected by the pay cuts introduced in the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (No. 2) Act 2009 (FEMPI (No2) Act 2009). The following clarifies the current position.

2.  (a) A public servant who:

  1. retires with an immediate pension (on reaching minimum pension age; on ill-health grounds; on ISER or similar VER) or resigns on Cost Neutral Early Retirement (CNER) or dies in service on or after 1 January 2010 and before 1 March 2012 or


  2. has a preserved pension and reaches the preserved pension age before 1 March 2012
will have pension and lump sum or death gratuity calculated on the basis of the pay scales in place at 31 December 2009 (i.e. uncut pay). In each such case and also in the case of any other pensions in payment on 1 January 2011 the pension in payment will be subject to the Pension Reduction set out in Section 2 of the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2010 (FEMPI Act 2010).

2.  (b) A Spouse’s or Child’s pension payable in respect of a scheme member at 2(a) will be calculated on the same basis.
 
3.  (a) A public servant who retires, resigns on CNER or dies or whose preserved pension age is on or after 1 March 2012 will have pension and lump sum calculated having regard to the pay cut introduced by the FEMPI (No 2) Act 2009. This means that the pension will be based on the ‘cut’ pay rate. However, the pension in payment will not be affected by the Pension Reduction introduced in the FEMPI Act 2010.
 
3.  (b) A Spouse’s or Child’s pension payable in respect of a scheme member at 3(a) will be calculated on the same basis.



5 April 2011