George Lawlor warns of pension abatement hitting returning public servants
George Lawlor raised pension abatement affecting retired public servants who returned to work and urged intervention with the Department of Public Expenditure. He warned that many who were encouraged back into service now face large abatement bills despite assurances they would not be penalized.
He said he had encountered retired public servants who were encouraged back into the service and are now receiving substantial pension abatement bills. He cited examples of one man with an 18,000 euro bill and a colleague with in excess of 30,000 euro.
Lawlor pointed to the most recent guidance, noting circular 24 of 2022 from the Department of Public Expenditure as the context for these abatement decisions. He urged the Department to look realistically at how the rules are being applied.
He highlighted an inconsistency - the irony that a retiree supplying work to the public service through an agency would face no implication for their pension, while the same person returning directly to the service can be penalized.
He noted that many were invited back at times of acute pressure, including during Covid, and that the State has relied on experienced personnel to help on specific projects. He said this interplay with pensions can deter people from returning.
Lawlor asked for intervention with the Department of Public Expenditure and said he would speak to the minister about referring the matter for further consideration. He acknowledged that pensions and abatement are complex but pressed for a fair outcome for those who returned to serve.
Pension abatement concerns
He said he had encountered retired public servants who were encouraged back into the service and are now receiving substantial pension abatement bills. He cited examples of one man with an 18,000 euro bill and a colleague with in excess of 30,000 euro.
Circular cited
Lawlor pointed to the most recent guidance, noting circular 24 of 2022 from the Department of Public Expenditure as the context for these abatement decisions. He urged the Department to look realistically at how the rules are being applied.
Agency work and pension implications
He highlighted an inconsistency - the irony that a retiree supplying work to the public service through an agency would face no implication for their pension, while the same person returning directly to the service can be penalized.
Context of returns during pressure periods
He noted that many were invited back at times of acute pressure, including during Covid, and that the State has relied on experienced personnel to help on specific projects. He said this interplay with pensions can deter people from returning.
Request for ministerial action
Lawlor asked for intervention with the Department of Public Expenditure and said he would speak to the minister about referring the matter for further consideration. He acknowledged that pensions and abatement are complex but pressed for a fair outcome for those who returned to serve.
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Transcript
I want to raise the issue of pension abatement. Quite a number of retired public servants who were encouraged back into the service following their retirement are now in receipt of rather large pension abatement bills. Retired public servants who had already earned their pension were told basically that if they worked a certain amount of hours, cumulative over the over the full year, they would not be penalized in any way. But now I have encountered people, one man showed me a bill for 18,000 euro and he said a colleague of his has in excess of 30,000 euro of a bill and these are people who were encouraged back into the service and to be fair to them came back into the service at a time when we were really under pressure and often it's still the case. The irony of it is if he went to work for an agency supplying work to the public service he wouldn't have any, there would be no implication on his pension. This is on foot of a most recent circular, I think it's circular 24 of 2022 from the Department of Public Expenditure. Could I urge you to intervene with the Department of Public Expenditure to realistically look at this and to ensure that people who have come back in to give their service to the state again are not penalized? I want to thank Deputy Lawler for highlighting this issue and I must say in an anecdotal sense I come across this as well where we are asking people who have accrued significant experience, expertise to come back and to help out with a specific project. Maybe when there are particular times of pressure, we can think of it during Covid, but we can think of it on many occasions. Often it can be quite a challenge to get people to come back, not necessarily because they don't want to, but because of that interplay in relation to their pension. Now pensions and pension abatement it's a complex area as you know, but I will talk to Minister Chambers in relation to it and ask that he refers to