My second question is what would my yearly income be if I had joined the public service 30 years ago? This would have allowed me to complete the 40 year's service according to the conditions that were in place at the time.
As you are paying Class A PRSI, the only valid comparator would be with a previous Class A PRSI pension scheme. Most people who entered the PS 30 years ago did so at Class D but there were some Class A PRSI pension schemes then, and since 1995 they all are.
So for someone with Class A PRSI retiring after normal retirement age with 40 years service, the approximate occupational pension calculation would be Final Salary * 40/80 - State Pension. The main difference in the Single Scheme is that the pension is not based on final salary but on career average earnings.
Approximate example. Assume all figures are inflation adjusted.
Joe is retiring after normal retirement age with 40 years in a traditional scheme (Class A PRSI). He started in a grade with a €35K salary and advanced by smooth stages to finish on a grade with a salary of €80K (he spent at least 3 years at this level). For pension purposes his salary prior to his final 3 years is irrelevant. His annual pension is estimated at €80K * 40/80 - €13k =
€27,000.
Josephine is retiring at normal retirement age with 40 years in the Single Scheme. She started in a grade with a €35K salary and advanced by smooth stages to finish on a grade with a salary of €80K. Her pension cannot be calcuated by simple formula but if we assume that when her full career earnings through the grades are averaged the result comes to €60K, then her approximate occupational pension is €60K * 40/80 - €13K =
€17,000.
You can see the difference. For someone with lots of big promotions in the second half of their career the difference is bigger than if the promotions come early in the career (or there are few promotions).
There is no provision for "notional years" in the Single Scheme. It has been replaced by a scheme to purchase "referrable amounts", either towards the annual pension or lump sum (or both). It certainy seems more clumsy than "notional years" but, perhaps, that is because I don't understand it. However, it is possible to go this way to enhance pension benefits. Alternatively there are AVCs. Whether better value or not, they certainly seem more straightforward and offer more flexibility at retirement.