Empolyer pension Contributions

Hi I was offered a job in the public sector, ( 5 year contract), which I was going to take until my curreny employer agreeed to match the terms of the contract. I woul be delighted to stay where I am as there is the potential for the job to go permanent later on. Easy to agree holidays etc, however I am stuck as how to factor in the the pension that was to be provided. What is the a accepatable level of employers pension contributions. Any new salary will be grossed up by the a % to cover pensions. I will arrange my own PRSA with this amount.....

There is no straightforward answer to this question as a lot depends on your individual financial circumstances, target retirement/pension lump sum/income, lifestyle, other savings & investments etc. For what it's worth there's a pension projection calculator in the key posts topic which might be of assistance to you but bear in mind that projections are based on assumptions that may or may not come true.

Hi MUM2KIDS,

The public sector is made up of three fairly distinct parts each of which offer different pension (superannuation) arrangements. Which section has offered you the 5 year contract?

These are as follows:
The Civil Service
The Broader Public Service (which includes Guards, Teachers, Nurses, Local Authorities, IT's, Non Commercial Semistate agencies etc)
Commercial SemiState Organisations (ie ESB, Bord Gas etc)

The schemes differ in terms of contribution and benefits. Most but not all are DB (Defined Benefit Schemes). Comparing a DB scheme with a DC (Defined Contribution Scheme) is a complex and difficult thing to do.

However I know some Commercial Semi-State Organisations offer DC schemes to recent employees especially to employees who are realtively mobile and are engaged on fixed term contracts. In some cases cases I know that the (commercial semistate) company matches your contribution up to 8%. and that they gross up this payment in terms of a pension allowance. It is then up to you to make your own PRSA arrangements.

In summary you need to know the precise pension offering in the Public Sector Organisation in terms of contribution and benefits before you can compare this with the PRSA arrangement suggested by your employer.

ajapale