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Civil Service Pension

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  • 31-05-2023 11:02am
    #1
    BalboBiggins
    Registered Users Posts: 222 ✭✭


    Hi guys, I'm currently in the private sector where I pay 6% of gross salary into pension and employer pays 12% on top. With civil service, how much of a percentage of gross do I pay and does employer match anything on top of it?



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    #2
    Peregrinus
    Registered Users Posts: 26,056 ✭✭✭✭Peregrinus


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058298611/civil-service-pension


    The contributions you pay are complex, but they work out at between a minimum of 3% and a maximum of 6.5%. Briefly, the lower your salary, the lower your contribution rate will be.

    The scheme provides you with retirement benefits which are calculated as percentage of your remuneration (at retirement age) for each year of service that you have completed. The longer you serve, and the higher your pay when you retire, the bigger the retirement benefit you will get.

    The difference between what you contribute and the cost of providing the promised retirement benefit is covered by the State as your employer. It's not possible to express the State's contribution as a percentage of your salary, because the State's commitment is to contribute whatever it costs to provide the promised benefit. It's not yet known what it will cost, because that will depend on events yet to happen — how many years you will serve, what promotions you will get, what salary you will be on when you retire, how long you will live after retirement, whether you will be survived by a dependent partner, etc.

    The flip side of not knowing what your employer will contribute is that it doesn't matter to you what your employer will contribute, because the retirement benefits you will get do not depend on what your employer will contribute.



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    #3
    Kirbi
    Registered Users Posts: 187 ✭✭Kirbi


    The above would be true of a pre-2013 civil servant, but all new hires since the beginning of 2013 are in the Single Public Service Pension Scheme.

    The Single Scheme is still defined benefit, but it's a career average scheme instead of being based on final salary.

    You can find more info at the below address, but it's 3% of gross plus 3.5% of "net" (not your usual definition of that!)

    You would also be liable for ASC contributions, which are higher depending on salary, but the rates for that are lower for Single Schemers across the board (vs pre-2013).

    https://singlepensionscheme.gov.ie/



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    #4
    BalboBiggins
    Registered Users Posts: 222 ✭✭BalboBiggins


    Thanks very much lads. Just one other q, can I combine my private pension into it?



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    #5
    Kirbi
    Registered Users Posts: 187 ✭✭Kirbi


    You can buy "reconable amounts" in the Single Scheme, which I assume can be used as a transfer value.

    I'd recommend getting independent financial advice before combining them though - due to the nature of the Single Scheme, I don't think it would be as advantageous as buying years in a pre-2013 scheme.



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