Superannuation and Pensions Act , 1963

Type Act

Publication 1963-07-30

State In force

Source Irish Statute Book

1 Interpretation.

1.—In this Act, save where the context otherwise requires—

“established civil servant” means a civil servant whose service is in a capacity in respect of which a superannuation allowance may be granted;

“established position” means a position in which established service is rendered;

“established service” means service in a capacity in respect of which a superannuation allowance may be granted;

“local authority” means a body which is—

(a) a local authority for the purposes of the Local Government Acts, 1925 to 1960,

(b) a vocational education committee,

(d) a school attendance committee;

“the Minister” means the Minister for Finance;

“public moneys” means moneys provided by or out of one or more of the following:

(a) the Oireachtas,

(b) the Central Fund,

(d) a body receiving moneys from the Hospitals Trust Fund,

(e) a board or body established by or under an Act of the Oireachtas or an Act of the Oireachtas of Saorstát Éireann,

(f) a company incorporated under the Companies Acts, 1908 to 1924, in which the majority of the ordinary shares are held by or on behalf of a Minister of State;

“superannuation allowance” means an annual allowance under the Superannuation Acts, 1834 to 1963, or any of those Acts;

“unestablished position” means a position in which unestablished service is rendered;

“unestablished service” means service in the Civil Service in a capacity in which whole-time service is required but in respect of which a superannuation allowance cannot be granted.

2 Compassionate gratuities generally.

2.—(1) Paragraph (c) of section 4 of the Superannuation Act, 1887, is hereby amended by the deletion of “for not less than fifteen years”.

(2) Where—

(a) an established civil servant dies without completing five years' service reckonable in computing a superannuation allowance,

(b) the civil servant served prior to becoming an established civil servant in an unestablished position, and

the Minister may, if he thinks fit, grant to the civil servant's dependants such compassionate gratuity as might have been granted to them under section 3 of the Superannuation Act, 1914, if the civil servant's established service had been unestablished service.

(3) Subsection (1) of this section, as well as applying in relation to retirements and removals from employment occurring after the passing of this Act, also applies in relation to retirements and removals from employment which occurred on or after the 5th day of May, 1960, and before such passing.

(4) Subsection (2) of this section, as well as applying to deaths occurring after the passing of this Act, also applies in relation to deaths which occurred on or after the 5th day of May, 1960, and before such passing.

(5) Section 4 of the Superannuation Act, 1887, is hereby amended by the insertion at the end of the section of “not exceeding fifteen years and, in case he has served in the employment for more than fifteen years, a further compassionate gratuity not exceeding two weeks' pay for each year of his service in his employment in excess of fifteen years ”.

3 Compassionate gratuities in certain cases.

3.—(1) (a) This subsection applies to the service of an employee of one or more contractors engaged on the continuing maintenance contracts of the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland, that is to say, contracts with respect to building work, electrical work, plumbing and gas-fitting work and painting work (excluding painting work on a measurement basis), being whole-time service required by virtue of such contracts and being service under the supervision of officers of those Commissioners.

(b) Service to which this subsection applies shall, if the Minister thinks fit, be deemed, for the purposes of section 4 of the Superannuation Act, 1887, as amended by this Act, to be service which was in a public department and was remunerated entirely out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

(2) (a) This subsection applies to the service of an employee of the Irish Land Commission whose remuneration is not paid entirely out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas but out of moneys at the disposal of the Irish Land Commission.

(b) Service to which this subsection applies shall, if the Minister thinks fit, be deemed, for the purposes of section 4 of the Superannuation Act, 1887, as amended by this Act, to be service which was remunerated entirely out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

4 Transfer of pensionable service.

4.—(1) (a) The Minister may by regulations designate organisations as approved organisations for the purposes of this section.

(b) Any reference in the subsequent subsections of this section to an approved organisation shall be construed as a reference to an organisation designated by regulations under this subsection.

(2) Where—

(a) a person employed in a pensionable capacity in an approved organisation is, without break of service, transferred or appointed to an established position, and

(b) the Minister and the authority controlling the approved organisation agree, at the time of the transfer or appointment, that this subsection is to apply in relation to the person,

the following provisions shall have effect:

(i) service of the person which is reckonable, at the time of the transfer or appointment, as pensionable service for the purposes of the superannuation provisions applying to persons employed in a pensionable capacity in the approved organisation shall, if the Minister so thinks fit and to such extent as he determines and provided that a return of contributions is not made in respect thereof, be reckoned as service in an established position,

(ii) where, any such service having been so reckoned, an award of an allowance or gratuity is made to or in respect of the person under the Superannuation Acts, 1834 to 1963, or an award of a marriage gratuity is made to the person, the appropriate authority shall make such contribution as may be agreed upon, at the time of the transfer or appointment, between it and the Minister towards the allowance or gratuity.

(3) Where—

(a) a person who is an established civil servant is, without break of service, transferred or appointed to employment in a pensionable capacity in an approved organisation, and

(b) the Minister and the authority controlling the approved organisation agree, at the time of the transfer or appointment, that this subsection is to apply in relation to the person,

the following provisions shall have effect:

(i) if the superannuation provisions applying to persons employed in a pensionable capacity in the approved organisation do not include provisions for the reckoning as pensionable service for the purposes of those superannuation provisions of the service of the person reckonable, at the time of the transfer or appointment, in computing a superannuation allowance, that service shall, if the appropriate authority so thinks fit and to such extent as it determines, be so reckoned,

(ii) where, any such service having been so reckoned by virtue of the foregoing paragraph or otherwise, an award of a lump sum, pension or gratuity is made to or in respect of the person under those superannuation provisions, the Minister shall make such contribution as may be agreed upon, at the time of the transfer or appointment, between him and the appropriate authority towards the lump sum, pension or gratuity.

(4) In paragraph (ii) of subsection (2) and paragraphs (i) and (ii) of subsection (3) of this section “the appropriate authority” means—

(a) in case an authority other than the authority controlling the approved organisation administers the superannuation provisions applying to persons employed in a pensionable capacity in the approved organisation—the authority administering those provisions, and

(b) in any other case—the authority controlling the approved organisation.

(5) Where—

(a) a person employed in a pensionable capacity in an approved organisation is, without break of service, transferred or appointed to employment in a pensionable capacity in another approved organisation, and

(b) the authorities controlling the approved organisations agree, at the time of the transfer or appointment, that this subsection is to apply in relation to the person,

the following provisions shall have effect:

(i) if the superannuation provisions applying to persons employed in a pensionable capacity in the other organisation do not include provisions for the reckoning as pensionable service for the purposes of those superannuation provisions of the service of the person reckonable, at the time of the transfer or appointment, for the purposes of the superannuation provisions applying to persons employed in a pensionable capacity in the first-mentioned organisation, that service shall, if the appropriate authority in relation to the other organisation so thinks fit and to such extent as it determines and provided that a return of contributions is not made in respect thereof, be so reckoned,

(ii) where, any such service having been so reckoned by virtue of the foregoing paragraph or otherwise, an award of lump sum, pension or gratuity is made to or in respect of the person under the first-mentioned superannuation provisions, the appropriate authority in relation to the first-mentioned organisation shall make such contribution as may be agreed upon, at the time of the transfer or appointment, between it and the appropriate authority in relation to the other organisation towards the lump sum, pension or gratuity.

(6) In paragraphs (i) and (ii) of subsection (5) of this section “appropriate authority” means, in relation to an organisation,—

(a) in case an authority other than the authority controlling the organisation administers the superannuation provisions applying to persons employed in a pensionable capacity in the organisation—the authority administering those provisions, and

(b) in any other case—the authority controlling the organisation.

(7) (a) Where—

(i) the superannuation provisions of an organisation to which this subsection applies do not include provisions such as are referred to in paragraph (i) of subsection (3) or paragraph (i) of subsection (5) of this section and it is desired that they should include those provisions,

(ii) apart from this subsection, there is no power to make the appropriate amendments,

power to make those amendments is hereby conferred on the authority controlling the organisation, but, where that authority has power to make other amendments of the superannuation provisions and that power cannot be exercised save with the agreement of any particular person, the power conferred by this subsection shall not be exercised save with the agreement of that person.

(b) This subsection applies to any organisation which is—

(i) an approved organisation, or

(ii) an organisation in respect of which the Minister has undertaken to designate it under subsection (1) of this section when it has amended under this subsection its superannuation provisions.

(8) (a) Whenever, a superannuation allowance or pension to which a contribution is made under subsection (2), (3) or (5) of this section having become payable, the pensioner receives any payments by way of remuneration out of public moneys, the superannuation allowance or pension shall be limited to such amount (if any) as, when added to the payments received by way of remuneration, does not exceed, in any period of twelve months, the annual remuneration which he received immediately before the superannuation allowance or pension commenced (or would have commenced but for not being in course of payment).

(b) The superannuation benefits (whether by way of allowance, pension, lump sum or gratuity) payable to or in respect of a person in a case in which a contribution is made under subsection (2), (3) or (5) of this section shall be limited to the amount (if any) by which any other superannuation benefit, provided by means of a charge on public moneys and payable to or in respect of the person, falls short of the amount payable under the Superannuation Acts, 1834 to 1963, on the retirement or death (as may be appropriate) of a civil servant with forty-five years' established service and a salary equal to either the salary by reference to which the said superannuation benefits were computed or the salary by reference to which the other superannuation benefit was computed, whichever is the greater.

(i) the annual value of any allowance or lump sum, or

(ii) the lump sum equivalent to any superannuation allowance or pension,

payable from public moneys to the person concerned.

(9) (a) The Minister may by regulations make provisions analogous to any of the provisions of subsections (2) to (8) of this section for any case to which this subsection applies, and any provisions so made shall have effect as if enacted in this section.

(b) This subsection applies to any case in which a person has service consisting of three or more sub-periods succeeding one after another without interruption.

(i) a period of service in the Civil Service,

(ii) a period of service in an approved organisation,

(iii) a period of service under a local authority.

5 Payment of contribution in certain cases.

5.—(1) Where established service is, under a superannuation scheme approved of by the Minister for the staff of a training college for teachers, reckoned in the computation of any pension, lump sum or gratuity awarded, whether before or after the passing of this Act, under that scheme, the Minister may pay to the authority having control of the training college a contribution towards the pension, lump sum or gratuity.

(2) The making of a payment under the foregoing subsection shall be at the discretion of the Minister and, where he makes any such payment, its amount shall also be at his discretion.

(3) Where—

(a) a person was, before the passing of this Act and then being an established civil servant, transferred, with the consent of the head officer of his department, to employment which was approved employment within the meaning of the Superannuation Act, 1914,

(b) the person remained in the employment on the 30th day of April, 1963,

(c) on his ceasing to hold the employment or any other employment approved of by the Minister, for the purposes of this subsection, his service as from the date of the transfer is pensionable under superannuation provisions applying to him, or in case the person transferred from Córas Tráchtála to An Bord Iascaigh Mhara on the 1st day of May, 1963, with the consent of both organisations, on his ceasing to hold employment in An Bord Iascaigh Mhara or any other employment approved of by the Minister for the purposes of this subsection, his service as from the 1st day of May, 1963, is pensionable under superannuation provisions applying to him, and

(d) the Minister and the employer agree that this subsection is to apply in relation to the person,

the following provisions shall have effect :

(i) if those superannuation provisions do not include provisions for the reckoning as pensionable service for the purposes of those superannuation provisions of the service of the person reckonable, at the time of the transfer referred to in paragraph (a) of this subsection, in computing a superannuation allowance, that service shall, if the appropriate authority so thinks fit and to such extent as it determines, be so reckoned,

(I) the Minister shall make such contribution as may be agreed upon between him and the appropriate authority towards the lump sum, pension or gratuity, and

(II) an award shall not be made to the person under section 4 of the Superannuation Act, 1914.

(4) In subsection (3) of this section “the appropriate authority” means—

(a) in case an authority other than the employer administers the superannuation provisions applying to persons employed in a pensionable capacity by the employer—the authority administering those provisions, and

(b) in any other case—the employer.

(5) Where, on the 1st day of March, 1960, a person serving in a position pensionable under a scheme made pursuant to section 2 of the Sea Fisheries (Amendment) Act, 1955, was transferred to a position pensionable under a scheme made pursuant to section 18 of an tAcht um Thionscail na Gaeltachta, 1957,—

(a) service of the person reckonable as pensionable service for the purposes of the former scheme shall, provided he does not get a return of contributions under that scheme, be reckoned as pensionable service for the purposes of the latter scheme,

(b) if, any such service having been so reckoned, an award of a lump sum, pension or gratuity is made to or in respect of the person under the latter scheme, An Bord Iascaigh Mhara shall make such contribution as may be agreed upon between it and Gaeltarra Éireann towards the lump sum, pension or gratuity.

(6) Where, on the 1st day of June, 1963, a person serving in a position pensionable under a scheme confirmed under section 44 of the Transport Act, 1950, transferred to a position pensionable under a scheme made pursuant to section 15 of the Tourist Traffic Act, 1952,—

(b) if, any such service having been so reckoned, an award of a lump sum, pension or gratuity is made to or in respect of the person under the latter scheme, the authority administering the former scheme shall make such contribution as may be agreed upon between it and Bórd Fáilte Éireann towards the lump sum, pension or gratuity.

(7) (a) Whenever, a pension to which a contribution is made under subsection (1), (3) or (5) of this section having become payable, the pensioner receives any payments by way of remuneration out of public moneys, the pension shall be limited to such amount (if any) as, when added to the payments received by way of remuneration, does not exceed, in any period of twelve months, the annual remuneration which he received immediately before the pension commenced (or would have commenced but for not being in course of payment).

This document does not substitute the official text published in the Irish Statute Book. We accept no responsibility for any inaccuracies arising from the transcription of the original into this format.