Actuarially reduced pension

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Has anyone taken an actuarially reduced pension at 50 or over with approx 25 years service (having joined pre 1995) and taken up a job in the private sector and how did it go? If having done a few years in the private sector and you wish to apply for other public sector jobs Is it an issue if you are in receipt of a pension from a previous PS role ....
im thinking the benefit of working in the private sector would be to Pay full A rate PRSI to entitle you to claim a state pension at 66.
would 10 years in full A rate get a full state pension or would you have to work longer.....just toying with all the options as Id like a change....
 
To my knowledge anyone who is in receipt of a public sector pension is debarred from taking on another public service role. A friend took early retirement from the public sector, and although she moved into the private sector (and paid the full PRSI stamp which enabled her to get a contributory old age pension) she mentioned that this was one of the criteria and it was actively policed. Even with this restriction making this move may be worth your while however if you don't currently qualify for the state old age pension.
 
oh, I Thought it was only a consideration if you took an Incentivised early retirement scheme. i don’t qualify for a state pension so that is my motivation as well as wanting a change ... if you leave the pension in situ until 60 Presumably it’s not actuarially reduced then is it - is their merit in doing that...
 
To my knowledge anyone who is in receipt of a public sector pension is debarred from taking on another public service role

They are not disbarred but they will normally be subject to Pension Abatement. This means that their combined pension from the previous role plus the salary from the new role cannot exceed the salary they would have been on if they had remained in the old role. A suspension from the Abatement rule was introduced for certain frontline staff roles at the start of the pandemic last year. I assume this will lapse at some stage.

im thinking the benefit of working in the private sector would be to Pay full A rate PRSI to entitle you to claim a state pension at 66.
would 10 years in full A rate get a full state pension or would you have to work longer.....just toying with all the options as Id like a change....

No, you will not be eligible for a full State Pension with 10 years at Class A. Actually, 5 years is the minimum for a mixed pro-rata pension (Classes A +D/B), but, as the name suggests, the level of pension eventually awarded is proportional to the number of full rate contributions.

Incidentally, the pre-1995 pension scheme offers superior terms to the Single Scheme, which is what you would be joining if you resigned from the public service and returned after a break of more than 6 months. If you want to try the private sector for a while you might be better looking for a Career Break. If you then want to go back you would have the option of remaining in your current pension scheme.
 
One last question ....I can’t take a career break because the job in the private sector would be a conflict of interest. Is it possible to preserve the PS pension until aged 60 and draw it down then...presumably it wouldn’t be actuarially reduced and could be beneficial to leave it there.
also if after a few years in the private sector you want to return to the PS and your pension is preserved can you then rejoin the pension scheme ......
 
Is it possible to preserve the PS pension until aged 60 and draw it down then...presumably it wouldn’t be actuarially reduced and could be beneficial to leave it there.

If you resign/retire now from the public service it would either be by way of Cost Neutral Early Retirement or with a Preserved Pension with a drawdown age of 60. There is no actuarial reduction on the latter.

It might be worth exploring that career break-conflict of interest clause further, unless you are prepared to make a clean break from the public service. If there is such a clause would it not disbar you from taking up the public sector job even if you resigned (rather than taking a career break)?
 
I projected after tax my own situation, with the actuarial reduction v's 60 (earliest I can retire non-actuarially reduced) my total after tax income to 80 is very similar, deferring to 60 might make very little difference. It could actually be beneficial depending on your tax rate. What makes it unpalatable for me is that the co-ordinated part is not paid till 60, thats the payment that covers off the public sector payment. It might be worth looking in detail at both scenarios.
 
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I worked out my Actuarialily reduced pension would be 19k. Is that taxed at 20%. However I’m joint assessed with my husband and he pays 40% tax so would that make a difference?
 
I projected after tax my own situation, with the actuarial reduction v's 60 (earliest I can retire non-actuarially reduced) my total after tax income to 80 is very similar, deferring to 60 might make very little difference. It could actually be beneficial depending on your tax rate. What makes it unpalatable for me is that the co-ordinated part is not paid till 60, thats the payment that covers off the public sector payment. It might be worth looking in detail at both scenarios.
There is another issue, the professional added years scheme. I looked at this, I might get one year added to my pension. This can only be applied for when I reach 60.
 
There is another issue, the professional added years scheme. I looked at this, I might get one year added to my pension. This can only be applied for when I reach 60.

I was looking into this further and this might not actually be the case. Please check how it applies for you.
 
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