Engineer, 29, just started with LA, Can i buy back years?

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construct_06

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Great forum by the way...!!!!

Engineer, 29, just started with LA, Can i buy back years?

i have €10k stowed away for this purpose, but maybe i cannot buy back years with a lump sum if at all?

Advice appreciated as this is a totally new area for me..
 
construct_06 said:
Engineer, 29, just started with LA, Can i buy back years?

i have €10k stowed away for this purpose
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You almost certainly can.

You'd need to speak with your HR department.

I would, however, be very slow to take this step in your position. Based on a retirement age of 65 (can you go earlier?) you'd have 36 years of service - almost a full pension. Do you own your own house? Are you likely to buy a more expensive one in the next 5 years? Are you married? Do you have kids? Are you going to want to fund further study in the near future?

My point is that there are many things you might better be able to spend your money on....you're sorted with a public sector pension in your twenties - that's probably enough for you for the moment.
 
in addition:

just started job with local council as an engineer.

i have a few qts.

1. can i retire earlier than 65? does a certain situation have to apply before i can retire early? i understand pensioin will be less (if i havent 40 yrs service.

2. i am 29, and i believe you can buy back years. but i also believe there is a special dispensation for engineers, is this true?

3. i think my pension is made up of oap pension and council pension, is this true?
 
Hi there,
I work in the public service also.To the best of my knowledge one of the key thing re buying back pension years is that you pay a percentage based on your point on the salary scale at the time of buying back the years. Remember that at the end of that particular tax year, you can claim relief on those payments. Your retirement age should be mentioned in the contract; and yes, the pension is made up of the oap payment, balance comes from your pension. There are public service pension calculators online and they will give you some idea of the merit of buying back years, particular to your own situation.
Good luck with the new job.
 
Being a HSE employee myself (part of the same superannuation scheme as Local Authorities), my understanding is that you can only buy back years of temporary service (when superannuation is not paid), you can't buy back time before you started employment in the local authority. You may have to look at AVCs (additional voluntary contributions) to top up your pension if you're not going to reach the maximum 40 years' service.

The retirement age for public service employees was changed in 2004 - with some exceptions, 65 is now a minimum age for retirement rather than a compulsory age. If your job has a specific retirement age, it'll be stated in your contract of employment (as MulberrySt said).
 
Being a HSE employee myself (part of the same superannuation scheme as Local Authorities), my understanding is that you can only buy back years of temporary service (when superannuation is not paid), you can't buy back time before you started employment in the local authority.
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you can buy back service through the nsp scheme although it aint cheap and if you intend on retiring early its not an option

The retirement age for public service employees was changed in 2004 - with some exceptions, 65 is now a minimum age for retirement rather than a compulsory age. If your job has a specific retirement age, it'll be stated in your contract of employment (as MulberrySt said).
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you can retire from 55 onwards on a reduced pension if you came in after 04 and 50 if you where in b4 them
 
so even if i pay nsp presuming i retire at 65, but then decide to retire at 55, do i not get benefit of payments to that date?
 
aircobra19 said:
So if you buy back years now, and in 20 years time want to retire you can't?
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u can retire but they will apply an actuarial reduction to the years you have purchased through the nsp scheme making the purchase poor value for money in most cases.
 
i know if you take early retirement and you haven't your full years your pension is reduced. I wasn't aware that years you buy back are treated differently if you retire early. Perhaps the rules are slightly different for different agencies vs the Civil Service.
 
aircobra19 said:
i know if you take early retirement and you haven't your full years your pension is reduced. I wasn't aware that years you buy back are treated differently if you retire early. Perhaps the rules are slightly different for different agencies vs the Civil Service.
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nope rules are the same for all. buying notional service is for those that will not have full service at their NRA. you'd want to be fairly sure you plan to work till then if your going down the NSP route as the benefits may be eroded if change your mind and retire early
 
We had a pension talk at work recently and I don't remember any mention of actuarial reduction to purchased years. I'll have to query them on it.
 
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