Page 14 - Group Insurance and Retirement Benefit IC 83 E- Book

You should always ask your scheme trustees or administrators for any information or

explanation you need in order to come to a decision. In general trust law and under the
Regulations governing disclosure of information to scheme members under the Pensions

Act, you are entitled to that information.
Even when you have the information to which you are entitled, it may be advisable for

you to seek individual financial advice before coming to certain decisions – such as
making or increasing voluntary contributions or exercising the various options that may

be available to you at the time of retirement or leaving service.

DEFINED BENEFIT SCHEMES

At what age is normal retirement pension payable?

Normal retirement age under the rules of each scheme is the age at which the benefits
specified by the rules will be paid in full. If retirement takes place before that age (which

may be subject to consent), a smaller benefit would usually be payable.
Conversely, if late retirement is allowed, most schemes would provide a larger benefit.

―Normal Retirement Age‖ in most Irish pension schemes is 65, because this is the age at
which the social welfare system pays pensions to qualified employees and it is common

for occupational pension scheme benefits to be designed in a way that takes account of

social welfare expectations.
How is my pension calculated?

In defined benefit schemes, pension is calculated usually by reference to a member‘s final
pensionable pay and pensionable service. In most schemes, these two factors would be

multiplied by a ―pension fraction‖ to arrive at the member‘s entitlement. An example of
this would be as follows:

Pensionable Pay: €21,000 per year

Pensionable Service: 40 years
Pension Fraction: 1/60th

Pension Entitlement: €21,000 x 40/60 = €14,000

The following should be noted: