Late entrant to public sector- pension query

H

HarryCSP

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I am a late entrant to ps, started working here at 45, so I will only have about 20 years service. Prior to this I have always worked in industry, and also contributed to pensions- do I need to do something to bring all these pensions together.

Is the best thing to do to consult a pension expert?
 
As someone who now works in the PS and previously worked in the private sector, I brought all mine together into the PS.
It in effect bought me some years service from a pension perspective in the PS. It fell well short of the number of years I had actually worked in the private sector. I was advised in advance by the Pensions Dept here how many years it would translate into.

I didn't get any advice, just seemed like the sensible thing to do but I was mid 30's at the time. But it would probably be wise to seek some
 
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HarryCSP,

Given the (fear) that we may not be able to pay full public servant pensions in future ,it might be no harm to leave your private pension fund where it is.

If you posted what your funds are worth today etc , some posters here are excellent and will give good pointers. .
 
Thanks to you both. I have received details of my last employment pension but am waiting for the previous which was with a foreign multinational- a French company, no longer in Ireland so I have had to contact the French headquarters about it. I will post back again when I receive the details and hopefully will get some advice.

Edit to add I have actually spoken to someone in the pension company in France now who told me they will tell me what my pension will be when I retire! Hopefully I got the wrong person, I will have to try again- I assume a French company can give the same 'leaving statement' that I received from the Irish company!
 
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Harry

If the pension related to the French company is a defined contribution pension, get it out and into your own name. You will experience the hassle of getting information now. Imagine what it will be like in 15-20 years time.

I wouldn't be in a hurry to transfer benefits into the PS just yet. You can use your benefits to buy back years at any time. Wait and see what the lay of the land is first. As Gerry says, there are numerous reports about the unsustainability of the PS pension. Once you buy back those years, you have bought into the scheme and if there are any drops in benefits, the bought back years will be affected too.


Steven
www.bluewaterfp.ie
 
But will the quantity of years he can buy back not diminish as:
a/ he gets older
b/ his pay increases
 
Delboy,

I expect you are correct , but for now I think he should investigate his options , one year missed won,t kill him !(I hope)
 
Hi Harry, As usual some answers are being given to questions you never asked and are irrelevant to your query. You are a late entrant to the Public Service and you might want to pay towards a better Public service pension. Your only (repeat) only option is to purchase years of service. This is not cheap but it is tax efficient. You have got to decide how many years you wish to buy. Calculate how many years actual service you will have up to your retirement age and then decide on how much time you wish to buy. You can purchase the time in a lump sum or through your salary starting whenever you wish, but the faster you pay off what you owe the less interest you will pay.

Is this a good investment? If you are going to survive into your eighties/nineties it is a good investment. However, if for some reason you think you will die within two or three years of your retirement it is a bad investment. Nobody can tell the future. But, if you are married, then on your death your wife will be entitled to half your pension entitlement. So I say, go for it and pay as much as your can afford.

Talk to your HR people about the rate of compound interest you will be paying. It might be prudent to put as much as your savings towards the purchasing of service.
 
Delboy, you got it wrong. He can buy service including his worked service up to 40 years of service. He can bring this bought service through pay increases and promotions and of course his age.
Gerry, we're talking about more than one year too. One year bought service is relatively little.
 
Apparently in order to buy back one year you need to have either 7 or 9 years service... Doing this from memory so not sure which of this is correct ...do check that out.
 
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