For post 1 March 2012 retirees
Arising from the Public Service Stability Agreement [PSSA] the teachers’ pay scale increased by 2%, and allowances by 5%, on 1 October 2020. This is the fourth and final pay increase under this pay agreement.
This increase also applies to teachers who retired since 1 March 2012. Retirees in this cohort have lower pensions as they retired after the teachers’ pay scale was cut. This has finally brought the pensions of those who retired after 1 March 2012 in alignment with the pensions of those who retired prior to that date.
The pension payment issued on 15 October 2020* included this fourth PSSA increase. [see Table for schedule of increases]
For pre-1 March 2012 retirees
The previous three PSSA increases had no impact on the pensions of teachers who retired before 1 March 2012. However, teachers in this cohort saw a modest increase in their gross fortnightly pension on this occasion.
As outlined above PSSA increases were paid in full to those who retired from 1 March 2012 onwards. The aim was for the pensions of this cohort to be restored to the level of colleagues who retired prior to the pay cut. This has been happening in recent years as the PSSA increases were rolled out.
The fourth PSSA increase paid on 1 October has finally brought the pensions of those who retired after 1 March 2012 in alignment with the pensions of those who retired prior to that date.
In fact, the most recent increase to the post 1 March 2012 retirees brought their pensions slightly ahead of colleagues who retired before that date. Therefore, a slight upward adjustment to the pensions of the pre-March 2012 cohort was required so that parity for all retired teachers was achieved.
The increase though modest is very significant for a number of reasons: It is the first increase in gross pension since 2008 for teachers who retired before 1 March 2012. It also means that pensions are back in alignment and are no longer impacted by the date of a teacher’s retirement.
More importantly the next pay increase for serving staff will apply across the board as the PSSA explicitly provides that once alignment is restored future increases will apply to all retirees.
Teachers’ Common Basic Scale (Top point)
1.9.2008 €63,361 Pay increase of 2.5% – ‘Towards 2016’ pay deal
1.1.2010 €59,359 Pay cuts introduced under the FEMPI (No 2) Act
1.1.2017 €60,359 €1,000 flat rate increase under the Lansdowne Road Agreement
1.1.2018 €60,963 1% increase – Public Sector Stability Agreement [PSSA]
1.10.2018 €61,573 1% increase – Public Sector Stability Agreement [PSSA]
1.9.2019 €62,650 1.75% increase – Public Sector Stability Agreement [PSSA]
1.10.2020 €63,903 2% increase – Public Sector Stability Agreement [PSSA]**
*The pension payment of 15 October covered fourteen days from 29 September to 12 October, so the increase only impacts 12 of the 14 days in this pay period. The pension payment of 29 October will reflect the impact of the increase over a full 14-day period.
** The first three PSSA increases applied to the teachers’ scale only and not to allowances. The 1 Oct 2020 instalment increased the scale by 2% and allowances by 5%.
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