Garda wife: 'There are weeks I can't put food on the table'

[Janet]

Well, the 'net situation' is currently being dissected over on the 'money makeover' thread that the individual concerned has started.

Forgive me if I have misunderstood but I didn't think the garda's wife in question has actually come on to AAM and posted but rather that "someone" started the money makeover thread to allow the more in-depth analysis of figures and questions to be posed.

 

[shigllgetcha]

A public-sector one-income family with a gross salary of €65K takes home €43,866 per year

The comparative salary for a private sector employee would be ~ €59,000 (take home of €43,803)

[broken link removed]

A private sector employee earning half the gross salary of the guard would take home €29,130 which is 66.4% of the guard's take-home pay and not 90% as you claim

take away €4,775 in the pension levy and c.€3,250 in pension contributions aswell though for the public sector employee

 

[orka]

A public-sector one-income family with a gross salary of €65K takes home €43,866 per year

The comparative salary for a private sector employee would be ~ €59,000 (take home of €43,803)

[broken link removed]

A private sector employee earning half the gross salary of the guard would take home €29,130 which is 66.4% of the guard's take-home pay and not 90% as you claim

Have a look at taxcalc.eu which I have always found to be the most accurate calculator.

 

[DB74]

Have a look at taxcalc.eu which I have always found to be the most accurate calculator.

The difference seems to be related to a pension contribution of €3,387 on the .EU site which isn't on the .IE site.

It can't be changed on the .EU site either

What is this figure made up of

The Pension Levy is €4,775

 

[Bronte]

but rather that "someone" started the money makeover thread to allow the more in-depth analysis of figures and questions to be posed.

and in line with that it would be great if one of the posters on this thread who know what tax a man would pay on an income of 50K we might progress on that discussion. So far I cannot even figure out the income.

Thanks to whoever posted that other thread. It's a much better way of figuring out if 75K or indeed 65K is a lot to live on.

(Not sure who Emily is though).

 

[orka]

The difference seems to be related to a pension contribution of €3,387 on the .EU site which isn't on the .IE site.

It can't be changed on the .EU site either

What is this figure made up of

The Pension Levy is €4,775

Public sector workers (full class A prsi) recruited after 1995 have had to pay pension contributions even before the pension levy (see the FAQ on cspensions.gov.ie). I'm not sure if the garda scheme is the same but I think they have some contribution to make.

 

[serotoninsid]

Forgive me if I have misunderstood but I didn't think the garda's wife in question has actually come on to AAM and posted but rather that "someone" started the money makeover thread to allow the more in-depth analysis of figures and questions to be posed.

Ok, if that's the case - thanks for clarifying. It would be far better if it was the person concerned - as further clarification is needed in order to determine with a little bit more precision - the situation of that individual and possible solutions to their financial predicament...

 

[DerKaiser]

I think Orka has raised a brilliant point.

A couple of questions stand out:
1) Should public servants be allowed opt out of future pension accruals in return for no pension levy or pension contribution?
2) If debt forgiveness comes in, will there will be very little to incentivise someone with a fairly average mortgage and a salary of €65k continuing to work versus just throwing in the towel and having their debt written off?

Could we do a Mrs Cornflakes scenario where the family are not working, have had their mortgage written off, etc and see how they compare?

 

[serotoninsid]

Could we do a Mrs Cornflakes scenario where the family are not working, have had their mortgage written off, etc and see how they compare?

I'm sure we could if all the details were provided - but as yet, that doesn't seem to be the case over on the money makeover thread.

 

[Bronte]

I'm sure we could if all the details were provided - but as yet, that doesn't seem to be the case over on the money makeover thread.

Indeed we do not have all the details. The pension contribution in particular is very hard to pin down.

 

[drs]

You make it sound like there is a huge difference between the two families.

The unemployed family receives 20K net plus rent allowance - so essentially 20K to live on excluding accommodation costs.

The 65K family gets 41,058 net after tax, levies, USC. They pay 1,400 interest only on their mortgage, leaving them 24,258 to live on excluding accommodation costs.

The difference doesn't look so huge now does it?

At last somebody is talking some sense

And the unemployed family get a medical card so free GP etc., back to school allowances, fuel allowances etc.

If all allowances, overtime etc. are removed from the garda, his gross would be the basic 51,034 which would be a net of 35,728. After the interest only mortgage, that leaves them with a non-accommodation living income of 18,928 - worse off than your example of an unemployed family with 2 children (and I think the garda in the story has at least 4 children which would give an unemployed family an extra 3K a year bringing them to 23K).one can only imagine how the employed feel reading your post and mine.

I had been tempted to do those sums myself

I've found myself in the weird position of being vaguely public-sector defending on this thread; I think without the mention of cornflake days this story would barely have warranted a small part of a bigger story - the cornflakes days angles propelled it to two articles, including one on the front page. The only part of the story I would like verified is if the family genuinely all eat only cornflakes on some days. I can certainly imagine a mother thinking to herself that she would eat cornflakes to save a bit of money rather than making a meal for herself - but inflicting that on the whole family, including growing teenagers? I really can't see that happening.

I think the real issue is that people compare Gross salaries and think: "Oh he's earning twice what I'm earning... lucky __insert_derogatory_term__"

If people were all just dealing in NET salaries that would be a fair comparison, but the reality is we all talk in Gross... €60k/pa gross is not twice €30k/pa by the time you get to the Net line on the payslip

 

[DerKaiser]

I think the real issue is that people compare Gross salaries and think: "Oh he's earning twice what I'm earning... lucky __insert_derogatory_term__"

If people were all just dealing in NET salaries that would be a fair comparison, but the reality is we all talk in Gross... €60k/pa gross is not twice €30k/pa by the time you get to the Net line on the payslip

Another excellent point.

It's really interesting to look at this level of salary pre and post retirement.

As stated above €51k delivers €35.7k net to someone in the public service under 65.

If that person has a 66% pension of €34k on retiring at the age of 65, their take home will be €31.2k.

I find this astounding. I know this particular person will need plenty of money in retirement as they will still be paying the mortgage, but in normal cases where the kids get jobs and the mortgage is paid off and there are no commute costs, the level of expenditure would probably fall by €15k+ meaning disposable income actually rises significantly on retirement!

 

[terrysgirl33]

Another excellent point.

It's really interesting to look at this level of salary pre and post retirement.

As stated above €51k delivers €35.7k net to someone in the public service under 65.

If that person has a 66% pension of €34k on retiring at the age of 65, their take home will be €31.2k.

I find this astounding. I know this particular person will need plenty of money in retirement as they will still be paying the mortgage, but in normal cases where the kids get jobs and the mortgage is paid off and there are no commute costs, the level of expenditure would probably fall by €15k+ meaning disposable income actually rises significantly on retirement!

Saying that the kids will have jobs is a bit of a crystal ball job (talking in general, not about this case). There are many cases where the kids are only in their early 20s, which can mean unemployed or still in college. You can also have a situation where grandkids have come along but the kids are not able to manage financially just yet, particularly with couples having their kids later this is quite common (as in, the grandparents in this case, if they have their children in their 30s, then their children will only be in their early 20s when the grandparents retire).

My parents are retired and finding that they have more disposable income than they ever had. As they get older, may need more care I am very relieved that financially things are easy for them now. They struggled to make ends meet for years, it's nice to see them relax now.

 

[Protocol]

Another excellent point.

It's really interesting to look at this level of salary pre and post retirement.

As stated above €51k delivers €35.7k net to someone in the public service under 65.

If that person has a 66% pension of €34k on retiring at the age of 65, their take home will be €31.2k.

I find this astounding. I know this particular person will need plenty of money in retirement as they will still be paying the mortgage, but in normal cases where the kids get jobs and the mortgage is paid off and there are no commute costs, the level of expenditure would probably fall by €15k+ meaning disposable income actually rises significantly on retirement!

Note that PS pensions are 50% of wages, assuming full service.

But yes, there are retired teachers on 700 pw pension, more than new teachers make.

 

[Bronte]

The original reporter on this must read blogs etc as she came back on the radio with Marian Finucane about this. Did anyone hear what she said?