202. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the estimated annual and long-term cost, broken down by service, of extending the Occupational Supplementary Pension to existing members of An Garda Síochána, the Prison Service, Fire Service and Defence Forces covered by the single public service pension scheme who must retire before State Pension age. [66446/26]

The Single Public Service Pension Scheme is a statutory Public Service, Career-Average, Defined Benefit pension scheme. It was established under the Public Service Pensions (Single Scheme and Other Provisions) Act 2012.

The provisions of the Single Scheme are clearly set out in law. All new-entrant pensionable public servants hired after 1 January 2013 are members of the Single Scheme. This includes uniformed members in An Garda Síochána, the Defence Forces, full-time Firefighters and Prison Officers.

An Occupational Supplementary Pension (OSP) is not a feature of the Single Scheme, nor was it intended to be. As no policy consideration has been given to its introduction, it is not possible to provide a cost estimate, either for Uniformed Fast Accrual members as a whole or further broken down by Uniformed service.

In the pre-existing public service pension schemes, subject to the terms and eligibility, an OSP may be payable to a retired public servant in receipt of an integrated pension. The OSP bridges the difference between the combined value of the actual occupational pension payable and any social insurance benefits in payment; and the value of an occupational pension had the pension not been subject to integration. The calculation is a function of the structure of pre-existing public service pension schemes which, unlike the Single Scheme, is based on an individual’s final pensionable remuneration and years of service. The maximum amount payable is up to the value of the State Pension (Contributory).

Due to the fundamental design differences between the pre-existing public service pension schemes and the Single Scheme – final salary and reckonable service versus career average, respectively – it is not possible to apply the same approach in respect of OSP to members of the Single Scheme. There is no equivalent non-integrated pension scheme for Uniformed members from which comparisons can be drawn.

The introduction of the Single Scheme is central to ensuring the long term sustainability of public service pensions, particularly in the context of improved life expectancy and rising public service employee numbers. The most recent valuation of the State’s Accrued Liability in respect of public service retirement benefits calculates the overall liability to be €175.7bn, which is payable over the next 70 years or so. The annual pension bill for the public service is currently at €5.3bn; this is projected to increase to a peak of €9.8bn in 2055.

Despite the broader trend in the private sector towards closing defined benefit schemes, the Single Scheme remains a defined benefit pension arrangement, albeit based on career average remuneration.

Uniformed members - Firefighters, Prison Officers, Gardaí and the Defence Forces - have enhanced benefits that other Single Scheme members do not have. These members accrue benefits at a faster rate due to their earlier Mandatory Retirement Age.

In 2024, in recognition of individuals seeking to work longer, Government enacted legislation to permit Uniformed staff to remain in service until age 62, should they wish to. This move allows members to build-up a higher pension than previously, increasing the final value of their Single Scheme pension. On retirement, subject to having reached their Normal Retirement Age, members receive their Single Scheme pension and lump sum immediately. Any further changes to Mandatory Retirement Ages for Uniformed staff are matters, in the first instance, for relevant line departments.