I wish to refer to important and significant changes to arrangements for Occupational Supplementary Pensions (OSP), the implications to A1 stamp PRSI contributors and their entitlements to maintaining OSP payment when returning to work post-retirement. This is an issue that has been raised at our ADC for several years and has been continuously advocated by the PNA since. We believe that the new circular will significantly improve the matter. The new arrangements are retrospective and will apply to all applications from August 1st 2024.

Public Servants who entered employment between 1995 & 2013 receive OSP to ensure that their pension is equivalent to receiving the state pension if they retire before the age of 66. This is particularly relevant for A1 PRSI contributors who retire at 55 as it makes up for any loss in pension payment that they would have received as a D stamp contributor. Up until now, returning to work in the HSE, post-retirement, would have resulted in the entire loss of the OSP payment. It will also remove the requirement to apply for the “Job Seekers Allowance”, something that has been highlighted by the PNA, for years, as being inappropriate for members who are officially retired following decades of service.

This, obviously, was a major impediment to those Nurses seeking to return to work and was seen as a very blunt tool that only limited the pool of Nurses available to the service. These new arrangements are an attempt to limit such difficulties and will result in a pro-rata approach.

Therefore, a member who works one day per week in a normal five day working week will be deemed to be working 20% of the normal working week and would have the OSP payable reduced by 20%. Previously, the entire OSP would have ceased.

As per the new circular, the eligibility criteria is as follows.

• Be retired and have reached minimum pension age for their area of the public service.
• Not be in full-time employment or self-employment (those in part-time employment have their OSP reduced pro-rata, at 20% for each day worked per week);
• Receive an occupational pension or other welfare benefit which is lower than what a full pre-1995 pension would have been;
• If under 66, not have claimed any other welfare benefit – or if claimed, has qualified at a rate below the state pension;
• Be in a post-1995 but pre-2013 public service pension scheme, which provides for OSPs
• The failure to qualify must be for reasons outside their control (reason inside their control include self-employment, full-time employment, deferral of state pension or transfer of social insurance credits to another country).

 

Under these circumstances, an application must still be made as the OSP is not automatically granted, a declaration must be given to confirm employment status and social insurance status, and those eligible must submit an annual declaration.