Teaching and pensions

peanuthead

Hi there

Would like some advice and help to clear a few things up in my mind.

I'm 26. I am in my 4th year teaching, my 4th year on the VEC payroll.

This year I am doing my PGDE.

1. Is full-service for teaching 40years?

2. Will these 4 years count towards my 40 years? I am casual and not with a union, paying pension levy or registered with TC

3. I want to start looking into a pension soon - how do I do this? Do I register with a union? Then pay them a % towards a pension.

I realise that these are probably quite basic questions, but I am very confused about all things money and accounts, please help!

thanks
p

TheDriver

40 years is total
Your paymaster takes your pension, union has nothing to do with this. Not sure about casual but think theres a similar question a few days back. Ask your VEC payroll office about this, this have a dedicated pensions person.P.S. remember they are changing the age at which you can get paid your pension e.g. i get it at 60 at the proportion of the years service i will have completed if i want it then but you will have to wait til 65/66 (not sure what it is now)....

peanuthead

TheDriver wrote: »

40 years is total
Your paymaster takes your pension, union has nothing to do with this. Not sure about casual but think theres a similar question a few days back. Ask your VEC payroll office about this, this have a dedicated pensions person.P.S. remember they are changing the age at which you can get paid your pension e.g. i get it at 60 at the proportion of the years service i will have completed if i want it then but you will have to wait til 65/66 (not sure what it is now)....

Thanks for the info. Yeah I think its actually going up to 68 :eek: Thats what has me thinking - there is no way I will work until I'm 68 and I know that for sure.

gaeilgegrinds1

Two of our staff were told the years as casual won't count for years of service, hope your answer is somewhat different.

peanuthead

gaeilgegrinds1 wrote: »

Two of our staff were told the years as casual won't count for years of service, hope your answer is somewhat different.

Me too!! Although I won't be too cut up about it if they're not as I'm still young enough. However it would be nice to get even two of them counted!!

Thanks a million for the input though, great help!!

rainbowtrout

If your hours were casual and you were on a subbing rate, they probably won't be counted, you have to work a certain number of years (can't remember the figure off the top of my head) in a school for the year for it to be counted as a year of service.

If you get a teaching contract, payments for pension are automatically deducted, you have no choice, there is no opt out of the system, you don't get to dictate how much gets put into the pension. You do have the option of starting your own private pension as a top up to the public service pension you would get on retirement.

ytareh

It appears to me that at the rate things are going our 'gilt edged' pension wont be worth much by the time most of us get there (if...)Sure dont people get about 10k odd regardless and even if our pension was worth 30k apparently according to a newly retired nurse on the radio shes WORSE OFF with her contributary state pension as she gets NOTHING in the way of free transport,health care etc and is taxed on her pension.The pension related talk on the news in the last few days is grim indeed ....I reckon those who have retired in the last few years after maybe selling some property a few years ago were the last of the real 'Golden Years ' generation...It could be jobs at the checkout in Tesco (The image of an elderly gent pushing an enormous 'stack' of shopping trollies up an incline in an american supermarket car park will always stay with me )and / or dire poverty for us all after we 'retire' in 10/20/30/40/(50!) years ...And its obvious that if the obesity epidemic continues we wont be all that much healthier.Oh and Cornmarket definitely ISNT the answer to all our prayers...

looksee

If you are casual and subbing as rainbowtrout said, your years will not be counted towards to Contract of Indefinite Duration until you have worked 4 years, and in a few specific cases, not even then.
You really should get registered with the TC, have a look at the regulations http://www.teachingcouncil.ie/_fileupload/TC_Legislation/Registration_Regulations_56873374._resigned_by_Minister_18_Nov_2009pdf.pdf
Pension will be taken from you, but until you have some sort of permanency I don't think it will be any use to you as a pension. Have to admit I am a bit hazy about the pension situation, but as has been said, it is nothing to do with the union.

TheDriver

from my understanding of pension and our contributory pension, if you are in employment before 2004 then you can claim this from age 60 (at the proportion you have worked) and if from 2004 to recently, its 65. This doesn't change I think, the only thing changing is the age the PRSI old age pension will be given to you.
If you have sufficient AVCs etc, you can retire at any age

Miss Lockhart

I have been subbing in a VEC school for a few years and am doing my PGDE at the moment.

When I was not registered with the TC and was paid the unqualified rate I did not pay pension. As soon as I registered with the TC (for the VEC sector) I was paid the qualified rate and pension was deducted.

I still pay pension this year for any subbing hours I do outside my Dip classes.

Hope that helps.