Buying years -public service pension

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Paddylast

Registered User
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Hi,
I wonder if anyone can shed any light on this. (I have already checked other threads but can't find the answer).. I took up my present position with a public service organisation in 2001 and am due to retire in 2015. I had just inquired about buying years of service and have been informed by my HR dept.that in order to do so I must have 9 yrs left to retirement! Can that be right?

Since writing the above I have found this on the Government website:

A person who wishes to purchase service must have an expectation of a
minimum of 9 years’ service (including any transferred service) to age of 65 i.e.
pension age in the case of “new entrants” and retirement age in the case of other
Non-Established State Employees.
• A person on a fixed term contract which clearly states that it is non-renewable,
or on a fixed purpose contract which would not be expected to extend beyond
a 9 year period, may not purchase service (unless the person has prior
reckonable service or has transferred service for superannuation purposes,
which would result in potential service exceeding 9 years);

Surely the above means all my years of service must be taken into account not just the years I have left until I reach 65?
As I am so close to this perhaps I am not reading it right. Can someone enlighten me please. Thanks.
 
It means you must have served 9 years (full time) by the time you reach 65, so you are fine to buy your years.
This site is very handy to work out your entitlements -
www.cspensions.gov.ie
 
You must have misunderstood what the HR person said or maybe they don't understand the conditions themselves! Berni gives a good link above. Check it out and contact the HR again to clarify things exactly.
 
Thank you so much for that link. It's brilliant. Looks like I can purchase over 7 yrs. Am still trying to convince HR however. They in turn are quoting the Dept. of Finance's response!!

Thanks again.
 
justs as an add-on for anyone interested I also made inquiries about transferring an old pension I have from a private company to the public sector one and again got conflicting info from HR. They said only if the company in question is included on the Transfer Network can the pension be transferred. WRONG! Any private pension can be transferred provided the private pension people are prepared to let it go. This could be very important for many so be aware.
 
Paddylast said:
justs as an add-on for anyone interested I also made inquiries about transferring an old pension I have from a private company to the public sector one and again got conflicting info from HR. They said only if the company in question is included on the Transfer Network can the pension be transferred. WRONG! Any private pension can be transferred provided the private pension people are prepared to let it go. This could be very important for many so be aware.
Click to expand...

I though there was an issue with tax or something similar with private/public pensions.
 
According the the Dept of Finance no tax kicks into pension until you actually drawn down on them. Not sure if that is what you meant!
 
One other item in relation to this public service pension. I am allowed transfer over a small pension I have in a private company to the public service pension I now hold. The private one is based in England so is calculated in sterling. Now it is very small - transfer value only something around 95,000 euro. It is index linked with a children and spouses element included. I can draw down on this when I reach 60 . As I would then be looking for somewhere to invest this if I do draw on it at 60 I am thinking of transferring it over to the public scheme, add to the one I now have (which is also small) and hopefully benefit from increases that are awared to the public service over the years until 65yr.

Anyone know of any drawbacks or anything I should take into account?
 
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