Spouses and Children’s Pension

A 1.5% deduction from gross salary and allowances is made for membership of the scheme.

The main benefits are:

• The spouse of a teacher who dies before retirement will receive a pension equal to one-half of the deceased teacher’s maximum potential pension.
• The spouse of a retired teacher will receive one-half of the retired teacher’s pension.
• Where children are left as well as a spouse, an amount equal to 1/3rd of the spouse’s pension will be payable for each child up to a maximum of three
  children. This covers children up to age 16, or the age of 21 if in full time education, there is no age-limit for a child who is permanently incapacitated.
• Provision is also made for the payment of a pension to eligible children in the event that a teacher is not survived by a spouse.

Members of the original 1969 (for men) 1981 (for women) Spouses and Children’s pension scheme who are single without dependents at retirement will receive a refund of contributions to this scheme on retirement. Any refund is subject to income tax.

Members of the original schemes who are widowed/divorced may receive a refund of contributions on retirement. This refund is for contributions from the date of divorce or death.

Any refund is automatic on retirement, it cannot be recouped before then, nor can you stop payments to this beforehand. If you remarry before retirement your new spouse would see the benefit if you were to predecease them in service or in retirement.

No. Members of the revised scheme introduced in 2004/5 for new entrants from this date, do not receive a refund of contributions if they are single with no dependents at retirement. Should a member of this scheme marry in retirement their spouse would be provided for under the scheme.

It is not possible to transfer the benefits to other family members.

It depends on a number of factors. These relate to whether you were given the option to join the Revised scheme in the first place, whether the decision you exercised at time was unsound or whether you did not reasonably foresee any adverse financial consequences by not joining the Revised scheme.

There is a limited appeals mechanism with three criteria under which an appeal may be made. These include:

1. where there is no evidence that an option was provided to the individual teacher in the first place
2. where there is medical evidence to indicate that the teacher making the decision not to join the scheme was of sufficiently unsound mind not to appreciate the consequences of their decision
3. where a member of the original scheme declined to join the revised scheme in circumstances where there would have been no reasonably foreseeable adverse financial consequences for the teacher (in terms only of their scheme contributions) had they instead opted to join the revised scheme.

For each of the appeal grounds, evidence will be required to be presented.

If the appeal is successful, you will be given the option of joining the Revised Scheme subject to the payment of any contributions owed.

Further information on the criteria are contained in DPER Circular 23/2022: Limited Appeals Process for option to join Public Service Spouses’ and Children’s Contributory Pension Schemes.

Members who joined the scheme in 1989 or 2004/5 but were in service prior to this date may owe contributions for each year of service prior to entry to the Spouses and Children’s Pension Scheme. Generally, this deduction is made from this teacher’s lump sum on retirement. In the case of married or widowed teachers a deduction of 1% of retiring salary will be made from the teacher’s lump sum for each year of pensionable service for which contributions have not already been made (subject to a maximum of 40).

Circular PEN 14/05 (Word)
Revision of the Spouses’ and Children’s Pension Scheme  May 2005

For further information See Chapter 27 of the Primary School Teachers Pension Scheme Handbook

or

Spouses’ and Children’s Pension Scheme (publicservicepensions.gov.ie)