I was not enrolled in the ETB pension 18 years ago!

J

Joeder

New Member
Messages
5
Hi All,

I'm desperate for some advice here.

I got a letter in the post from 'My Future Fund' about paying into a pension.
I've been working for an ETB for the past 18 years so I knew this didn't apply to me.
Called up the ETB and to my horror, they told me I was never set up for the superann deductions (an error on their part, although they said I was to blame too for not noticing).
What the hell am I going to do?? Obviously I'll have to pay it back.

I'm sick.
 
Pay what back? They haven’t given you anything have they?
Or do you mean pay the back money that should have been paid? Is that even possible?
 
Are you a member of a union?
Perhaps they can offer advice and support in dealing with this?
Did the ETB admit their error in writing yet?
Joeder said:
Obviously I'll have to pay it back
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You mean pay 18 years of backdated superannuation?
Have they said this to you?
 
Yes, they told me we would have to come up with a payment plan to pay it all back.
Sorry, I missed the first part of your post.
I'm not a member of a union.
And no letter, they told me over the phone today.
 
Have they suggested a plan yet? Can you afford it? How many years are you away from retirement so it it even realistic?

Is this a defined benefit scheme?

How will they account for the 18 years growth or is that relevant in a public sector scheme?

18 years is a lot of payslips P60s to miss that you had no deductions.

I don’t know what the tax implications are for PS schemes. I think you probably need some expert advice here and union might be a good place to start right enough.
 
I would start by getting something in writing from them and keeping track of all communications with them in order to get a clear picture of the overall situation. Maybe also talk to HR about this. If necessary and possible bring someone with you if you're not confident of dealing with this on your own. Ideally someone with some knowledge of such pension/payroll/HR matters.
 
I’d start off with an email outlining what they told you and ask them to confirm the conversation so you are starting to build a record.

And ask for an outline of what payments were missing… dates and amounts.

I assume over 18 years your pay has changed so they need to set that out in detail.

At least a figure for each year.

And I think given it was their error it behoves them to suggest a payment plan. Then you’ll be able to assess whether you can afford it.

I was accidentally overpaid during mat leave once and was asked to repay it immediately which suited them, cover up the error quickly… I refused and took the rest of the tax year! Don’t be bullied into a faster payment than you can afford.
 
For what it's worth this is what Google AI suggests... As ever with AI you have to be careful with what it suggests but this seems fairly reasonable and accurate to me.
If superannuation contributions have not been deducted from your salary by your Education & Training Board (ETB) for several years, this indicates a significant issue that needs immediate attention. It is a statutory obligation for your employer to make the correct deductions and contributions to the relevant pension scheme.

Here are the steps you should take:

1. Contact Your ETB's HR/Pensions Section Immediately

The first step is to formally notify your employer's Human Resources or Pensions Section in writing about the non-deduction of superannuation.
  • Provide Details: Include your name, PPS number, staff number, periods of employment concerned, and details of the issue.
  • Request Rectification: Ask for a full statement of your pension record and for the issue to be rectified, including the calculation and payment of all outstanding contributions. This should include both your portion and the employer's portion (if applicable to the scheme).
2. Understand the Implications
  • Pensionable Service: The non-payment of contributions means that the corresponding period of service may not be counted as "reckonable service" for your retirement benefits until the situation is resolved.
  • Scheme Membership: If a significant break in contributions (more than 26 calendar weeks for pre-2013 schemes) occurred, it could potentially affect your scheme membership status, forcing you into the newer, less favorable Single Public Service Pension Scheme. However, if the fault lies with the employer, you should not be penalised.
  • Tax Relief: You may be entitled to tax relief on the contributions, which the employer should typically process via payroll.
3. Seek External Advice
If your ETB does not resolve the matter promptly, you should seek advice from external bodies:
  • Your Union: Contact your trade union (e.g., ASTI or TUI) as they have specific expertise in ETB pension schemes and can provide guidance and representation.
  • Citizens Information: The Citizens Information website offers comprehensive, independent advice on pensions and employment rights in Ireland.
  • Revenue Commissioners: Since this issue involves payroll deductions and tax implications, you may need to contact the Revenue Commissioners directly through their myAccount service to ensure your tax situation is correct.
  • The Pensions Ombudsman: If internal and union channels fail, the Pensions Ombudsman can investigate complaints of maladministration by pension scheme administrators.
It is crucial to act quickly to ensure your pension entitlements are fully protected.
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Joeder said:
Called up the ETB and to my horror, they told me I was never set up for the superann deductions (an error on their part, although they said I was to blame too for not noticing).
Click to expand...

For 18 years, dozens of payslips, were there pension deducutions on the payslips?
 
We get our payslips online in a password protected pdf. Someone said to me recently that they had a years worth unopened as they forgot the password! Like seriously… an entire year! And of course payroll team could give them a new password.

And don’t balancing statements show pension relief? So when checking med relief, illness benefits etc at the year end.

I didn’t think that opting out was a choice in the public sector so 18 years of them not noticing too, never being checked by internal audit? Weird
 
I got an email today in addition to my payslip about "My Future Fund".

In my case at least it is just compulsory Auto Enrolment kicking in.

It is going to be in addition to PRSI going forward.

That's my reading of it anyway.
 
I think there was topic similar to this here before.

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It is very serious. What did your employment contract state?
 
Annieindublin said:
And don’t balancing statements show pension relief? So when checking med relief, illness benefits etc at the year end.
Click to expand...

No, not directly.

One part of the P21 shows the taxable income.

The section on USC shows the income for USC purposes, which will be higher, if there are pension deductions by payroll.

But the actual amount of the PS pension deductions is not stated.
 
OP please verify this, but if you do have to repay, would the repayment not be subject to the usual tax relief? This relief is capped at age % and salary level, so make sure you understand how this works. You don't want to have a payment plan that breaches these thresholds and makes it yet more expensive on you if the tax relief is granted on payment rather than the time period you are covering.
 
1) It seems that the most important thing is that you get an entitlement to your pension when you retire. This is going to be a much bigger figure than any contribution you should have made over the last 18 years.
2) What age are you and how many years left have you got to work?
3) They must put you in the pension scheme immediately and start making the normal deductions
4) Then you can start discussing how they can recover the 18 years you owe them.

If you have 30 years left to work before you retire, they could spread it over the next 30 years.
If you have only 1 year left, then it would be a big problem.

Talk to your Trade Union immediately. It is very likely that they have encountered this before and agreed some solution.
 
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Is it possible to join a trade union now? Or at the very least I would expect my employer to provide me with access to free legal advice on the matter. And if you have access to an Employee Assistance Programme in work, use it for both financial and wellbeing to help you work through this.

I think that while you should also have noticed this discrepancy, it is less obvious in a defined benefit scheme. Are there supposed to be annual statements sent to you for this? I keep an eye on my DC scheme balances because they can change, but if I was in a DB scheme I have no control over funds etc so I doubt many people estimate their pension until they come close to retirement age.

I wonder how widespread this is? Will auto enrollment bring a lot of similar cases to light? Keep an eye on media and in your organisation to understand how this is dealt with in other cases. For sure your HR/payroll team will be doing an audit and might uncover more cases like yours.

Brendan Burgess said:
It seems that the most important thing is that you get an entitlement to your pension when you retire. This is much more likely to be a much bigger figure than any contribution you should have made over the last 18 years.
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Also consider that there might have been opportunity gain of you having had this cash available to you over these years....had you made the contributions at the time, you may have had less cash for housing/investments which should have increased in value so overall you may have a higher net worth.
 
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