S.I. No. 48/1951 - Secondary Teachers' Superannuation (Amendment) Scheme, 1951.

S.I. No. 48 of 1951.

SECONDARY TEACHERS' SUPERANNUATION (AMENDMENT) SCHEME, 1951.

I, RISTEÁRD UA MAOLCHATHA, Minister for Education, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, testified by his signature hereto, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by the Teachers' Superannuation Act, 1928 (No. 32 of 1928), and of every and any other power me in this behalf enabling, do hereby make the following Scheme, that is to say :—

PART I. PRELIMINARY AND GENERAL.

1. This Scheme may be cited as the Secondary Teachers' Superannuation (Amendment) Scheme, 1951, and the Secondary Teachers' Superannuation Schemes, 1929 to 1949, and this Scheme may be cited together as the Secondary Teachers' Superannuation Schemes, 1929 to 1951.

2. (1) This Scheme, on its being confirmed by each House of the Oireachtas, shall be deemed to have had effect as on and from the 1st day of August, 1950.

(2) Accordingly, a sum may be paid under this Scheme notwithstanding that the teacher to or in respect of whom it is payable retired or died before such confirmation and a gratuity or payment already made may be revised in accordance with the provisions of this Scheme.

3. The Interpretation Act, 1937 (No. 38 of 1937), applies to this Scheme.

4. (1) In this Scheme—

the expression " the additional contributions " means a contribution of one and one half per cent. of the standard salary paid or deemed to have been paid to a person during the relevant school year in respect of each year of contributing service prior to the relevant date which the person desires to have reckoned for the purpose of the payment of the gratuities;

the expression " the Amendment Scheme of 1932 " means the Secondary Teachers' Superannuation (Amendment) Scheme, 1932 ( S. R. & O. No. 54 of 1932 );

the expression " the Amendment Scheme of 1933 " means the Secondary Teachers' Superannuation (Amendment) Scheme, 1933 ( S. R. & O. No. 107 of 1933 );

the expression " the Amendment Scheme of 1935 " means the Secondary Teachers' Superannuation (Amendment) Scheme, 1935 ( S. R. & O. No. 48 of 1935 );

the expression " an existing member on the relevant date " means a person who was a member on that date by virtue of an application for membership made before that date or who was subsequent to that date admitted to membership as from a date not later than the relevant date by virtue of an application for membership made before that date;

the expression " the gratuities " means the retirement gratuity, the death gratuity, the disablement gratuity, the marriage gratuity or the short service gratuity;

the expression " the prescribed period " means such period, not extending beyond the 31st day of July, 1956, as may be prescribed by the Minister;

the expression " the Principal Scheme " means the Secondary Teachers' Superannuation Scheme, 1929 ( S. R. & O. No. 19 of 1929 ), as amended by subsequent Schemes;

the expression " the relevant date " means the 1st day of August, 1950;

the expression " the relevant school year " means the school year ending on the 31st day of July, 1951;

(2) The Principal Scheme and this Scheme shall be construed together as one Scheme.

5. (1) A recognised teacher who has not been admitted to membership may, on or before the 31st day of July, 1951, apply to be admitted to membership—

(a) if he is an existing recognised teacher, as from the 1st day of August, 1929;

(b) if he is a future teacher who entered approved teaching service before the relevant date, as from the date on which he first entered approved teaching service.

(2) A person who is admitted to membership under subparagraph (1) of this paragraph, and who, during the period beginning on the date of such admission and ending on the 31st day of July, 1950, ceased to be engaged in approved teaching service and subsequentlyre-entered approved teaching service, shall be deemed to have made application, under paragraph 9 of the Principal Scheme, on the date of such re-entry.

(3) Nothing in subparagraph (1) of this paragraph shall prevent a person from duly making application under subparagraph (2) of paragraph 7 of the Principal Scheme.

6. (1) A future teacher who was an existing member on the relevant date but who did not become such member as from the first day on which he was eligible for membership may, on renewed application for membership, made on or before the 31st day of July, 1951, have his membership ante-dated to such first day.

(2) A person who has his membership ante-dated under subparagraph (1) of this paragraph and who, during the period beginning on the day to which his membership is ante-dated and ending on the day on which he was originally admitted to membership, ceased to be engaged in approved teaching service and subsequently re-entered approved teaching service, shall be deemed to have made application, under paragraph 9 of the Principal Scheme, on the date of such re-entry.

7. The provisions of subparagraph (2) of paragraph 13 of the Principal Scheme shall be deemed to have been complied with in relation to all service before the relevant date in respect of a person who is admitted to membership under paragraph 5 or has his membership ante-dated under paragraph 6 of this Scheme.

8. (1) A person who is admitted to membership under paragraph 5 of this Scheme shall pay to the pension fund as from the relevant date a contribution of five per cent. per annum of his standard salary and shall so pay, within the prescribed period, arrears of contribution at the rate of six and one-half per cent. of the basic salary and four per cent. of the incremental salary paid or deemed to have been paid to him in respect of each year of his approved teaching service during the period beginning on the 1st day of August, 1929, and ending on the 31st day of July, 1950, together with compound interest at the rate of one per cent. of the said percentages of the said basic and incremental salaries.

(2) The compound interest referred to in subparagraph (1) of this paragraph shall be calculated as from the last day of each school year in respect of which the said arrears of contribution are being paid to the date on which they are paid.

9. (1) A person whose membership is ante-dated under paragraph 6 of this Scheme shall pay to the pension fund as from the relevant date, a contribution of five per cent. per annum of hisstandard salary and shall so pay, within the prescribed period, arrears of contribution at the rate of six and one-half per cent. of the basic salary and four per cent. of the incremental salary paid or deemed to have been paid to him in respect of each year of his approved teaching service during the period beginning on the date to which his membership was ante-dated and ending on the date from which his membership was ante-dated under the said paragraph 6, together with compound interest at the rate of one per cent. of the said percentages of his said basic and incremental salaries.

(2) The compound interest referred to in subparagraph (1) of this paragraph shall be calculated as from the last day of each school year in respect of which the said arrears of contribution are being paid to the date on which they are paid.

10. (1) A person who was an existing member on the relevant date and who was admitted or re-admitted to membership under the Amendment Scheme of 1932 from the appointed day or from his admission date as defined in paragraph 9 of the said Amendment Scheme, but who did not pay contributions in respect of service during the period in the said paragraph 9 referred to as the intermediate period, may, on application made on or before the 31st day of July, 1951, have his approved teaching service during the said intermediate period reckoned as contributing service if he pays, as from the relevant date, the contributions, and, within the prescribed period, the arrears of contribution and the compound interest referred to in paragraph 8 of this Scheme which are appropriate to him.

(2) The provisions of subparagraph (3) of paragraph 9 of the Amendment Scheme of 1932 shall be deemed to have been complied with in relation to service during the said intermediate period in respect of a person who duly makes application under subparagraph (1) of this paragraph and pays the arrears of contribution and the compound interest referred to therein.

11. (1) A person who was an existing member on the relevant date and who was admitted or re-admitted to membership under the Amendment Scheme of 1933, but who did not pay contributions in respect of service during the period in paragraph 7 of the said Amendment Scheme referred to as the intermediate period may, on application made on or before the 31st day of July, 1951, have his approved teaching service during the said intermediate period reckoned as contributing service if he pays as from the relevant date contributions and, within the prescribed period, the arrears of contributions and the compound interest referred to in paragraph 8 of this Scheme which are appropriate to him.

(2) The provisions of subparagraph (4) of paragraph 7 of the Amendment Scheme of 1933 shall be deemed to have been complied with in relation to service during the said intermediate period in respect of a person who duly makes application under subparagraph (1) of this paragraph and pays the arrears of contribution and the compound interest referred to therein.

12. (1) So much of subparagraph (1) of paragraph 7 of the Principal Scheme as permits of the extension of time for the making of an application for admission to membership shall cease to apply in the case of an application for admission to membership by an existing recognised teacher.

(2) The Minister may, in relation to a recognised secondary teacher who had approved teaching service before the relevant date but who is not in such service on the 31st day of July, 1951, extend beyond the said 31st day of July, the period allowed under this Scheme for making any application or exercising any option referred to in this Scheme.

13. The following clause shall, as respects future teachers who are admitted to membership on application made on or after the relevant date and in relation to the contributions payable by them in respect of approved teaching service on or subsequent to the relevant date, be deemed to be substituted for clause (a) of subparagraph (1) of paragraph 13 of the Principal Scheme, that is to say—

" (a) the amount of such contribution shall be at the rate of five pounds per cent. per annum of such teacher's standard salary ;".

14. The following definition is hereby substituted for the definition of " the Incremental Salary Rules " in paragraph 3 of the Principal Scheme—

" the expression ' the Incremental Salary Rules ' means rules for the time being in force made by the Minister with the consent of the Minister for Finance, in relation to the distribution of money voted by the Oireachtas for the purpose of the payment of incremental salary and other emoluments to secondary teachers exclusive of any emoluments which the Minister shall declare to be non-pensionable ;".

PART II. THE GRATUITIES.

15. This Part of this Scheme applies to—

(a) a future teacher who is admitted to membership under subparagraph (2) of paragraph 7 of the Principal Scheme on application made on or after the relevant date;

(b) a person who was a member on the 31st day of July, 1950, and who, not later than the 31st day of July, 1951, opts to pay, as from the relevant date, a contribution of five per cent. per annum of his standard salary; and

(c) a recognised secondary teacher who was not a member on the 31st day of July, 1950, and who, by virtue of this Scheme, becomes a member on a date prior to the relevant date.

16. A person to whom this Part of this Scheme applies shall not be allowed to pay the additional contributions unless he—

(a) opts, before the 31st day of July, 1951, to do so;

(b) informs the Minister in writing before that date of such option;

(c) informs the Minister in writing before that date of the number of years of his contributing service prior to the relevant date which he desires to have reckoned for the purpose of the payment of the gratuities.

17. The service (in this Scheme referred to as gratuity service) in respect of which the gratuities shall, subject to the provisions of the Principal Scheme and this Scheme, be payable to a person to whom this Part of this Scheme applies shall be—

(a) in the case of approved teaching service subsequent to the 31st day of July, 1950, each year of approved teaching service in respect of which he pays a contribution of five per cent. of his current standard salary and in respect of which the school's contribution in accordance with the Principal Scheme is paid,

(b) in the case of approved teaching service before the relevant date, each year of contributing service in respect of which he pays the contribution of one and one-half per cent. of the standard salary paid or deemed to have been paid to him during the relevant school year,

(c) in the case of service which has been deemed, under paragraph 5 of the Amendment Scheme of 1935, to be approved teaching service and also contributing service, each year of such service.

18. (1) There shall, subject to subparagraph (3) of this paragraph, be paid, out of the pension fund, to a person to whom this Part of this Scheme applies, on his retirement on pension or on his retirement with a disablement gratuity, a lump sum (in this Scheme referred to as a retirement gratuity) equal to one-thirtieth of his pensionable salary multiplied by a number equal to the number of completed years of his gratuity service.

(2) Where a person to whom a retirement gratuity has been paid under this Scheme on retirement on pension re-enters approved teaching service and re-enters membership, his gratuity service prior to his retirement shall, for the purposes of the Principal Scheme and this Scheme, be reckoned as service for the purpose of the payment of a retirement gratuity on subsequent retirement or for the purpose of the payment of a death gratuity but the amount of the latter retirement gratuity or the amount of the death gratuity shall be reduced by the amount of the retirement gratuity paid to him on previous retirement.

(3) A retirement gratuity shall not be paid, under subparagraph (1) of this paragraph, to a person unless he has at least two years' gratuity service.

19. (1) In the event of the death of a person to whom this Part of this Scheme applies, there may, subject to subparagraph (2) of this paragraph, be paid, out of the pension fund, to the legal personal representative of such person a gratuity (in this Scheme referred to as a death gratuity) of an amount equal to whichever of the following is the greater—

(a) the retirement gratuity which would have been payable to such person under paragraphs 18 and 22 of this Scheme if he had been retired on pension at the date of his death, or

(b) one year's pensionable salary.

(2) A death gratuity shall not be paid, under subparagraph (1) of this paragraph, in respect of a person unless he had at least five years' gratuity service.

(3) (a) Paragraph 7 of the Amendment Scheme of 1935 shall not apply to a person to whom this Part of this Scheme applies.

(b) Where a person who has been awarded a pension and a retirement gratuity under this Scheme dies and the amount received by him by way of pension and retirement gratuity is less than one year's pensionable salary, a gratuity equal to the deficiency may be paid to his legal personal representative.

20. Where—

(a) a person to whom this part of this Scheme applies, whose length of approved teaching service which is reckonable for pension is less than ten years, retires, and

(b) the circumstances are such that, if such service had been ten years, a pension under the Principal Scheme could have been granted to him,

there may, subject to the Principal Scheme and this Scheme, be paid, out of the pension fund, to him a gratuity (in this Scheme referred to as a disablement gratuity) equal to one-twelfth of his pensionable salary multiplied by a number equal to the number of completed years of his gratuity service.

21. (1) If, but only if, a person to whom this Part of this Scheme applies who is a woman and who has completed not less than six years' gratuity service complies with the following condition, that is to say—

(i) gives notice in writing to the Minister of her intention to retire from approved teaching service because of her impending marriage,

(ii) retires from approved teaching service not later than the date of her marriage, and

(iii) marries within three months of the date of such retirement,

there may be paid, out of the pension fund, to her, on application, a gratuity (in this Scheme referred to as a marriage gratuity) equal to one-twelfth of her pensionable salary multiplied by a number equal to the number of completed years of gratuity service but not exceeding twelve such years.

(2) A person to whom a marriage gratuity has been paid under subparagraph (1) of this paragraph shall subsequently be ineligible to re-enter membership unless she becomes a widow, and, if she so re-enters, her approved teaching service prior to her marriage shall not be reckoned for the purposes of the grant of a pension or the payment of the gratuities unless she repays to the pension fund themarriage gratuity paid to her together with compound interest thereon at the rate of three per cent. per annum and the said interest shall be calculated from the date on which she received the marriage gratuity until the date on which it is repaid.

22. A teacher who was admitted to membership on application made before the relevant date, who was a member on that date and who rendered approved teaching service (in this paragraph referred to as pre-1929 service) prior to the 1st day of August, 1929, and who, as from the relevant date, pays a contribution of five per cent. per annum of his current standard salary and pays the additional contributions in respect of all his approved teaching service prior to the relevant date and subsequent to the 31st day of July, 1929, may, where a retirement gratuity is payable to him, receive as part of that gratuity, in addition to the sum calculated in accordance with paragraph 18 (1), a sum equal to one-sixtieth of his pensionable salary multiplied by a number equal to the number of his completed years of pre-1929 service.

23. A member who retired from approved teaching service during the period beginning on the 1st day of January, 1950, and ending on the 31st day of July, 1950, shall be deemed to have exercised, at the date of his retirement, the option referred to in paragraph 16 of this Scheme in respect of all his contributing service, and, accordingly, he shall be paid the amount (if any) by which whichever of the gratuities as is appropriate to him exceeds the amount made up of the sum of the additional contributions payable by him and the amount of any gratuity paid to him under the Principal Scheme.

24. A member who died or dies during the period beginning on the 1st day of January, 1950, and ending on the 31st day of July, 1951, shall be deemed to have exercised the option referred to in paragraph 16 of this Scheme in respect of all his contributing service, unless, before his death, he indicated to the Minister that he did not wish to exercise such option, and, accordingly, if such indication has not been given, there shall be paid, out of the pension fund, to the legal personal representative of such person, the amount (if any) by which whichever of the gratuities as is appropriate to him exceeds the amount made up of the sum of the additional contributions payable by him and the amount of any gratuity paid in his case under the Principal Scheme.

25. An ex-member who re-enters membership and opts under this Scheme to pay a contribution of five per cent. per annum of his standard salary and the additional contributions shall not be paid the gratuities unless he has been in membership for a total periodof three years subsequent to 31st day of July, 1950, and where such ex-member retires or dies before the expiration of such three years, there shall be payable to or in respect of him the additional contributions paid by him together with the amount of any gratuity which would have been payable to or in respect of him under the Principal Scheme if he had not opted to avail himself of the provisions of this Scheme.

26. In the event of the death or the retirement of a member before he has paid the total amount of the contributions he has opted to pay under this Scheme, the arrears of such contributions shall be deducted from any of the gratuities or the pension payable in his case.

27. Subparagraph (1) of paragraph 26 of the Principal Scheme is hereby amended by the insertion immediately after the words " a short service gratuity " of the words " or a disablement gratuity with or without a retirement gratuity " and by the insertion after the words " such gratuity ", where they occur, of the words " or gratuities ".

28. Subparagraph (2) of paragraph 5 of the Amendment Scheme of 1935 shall, as respects service as from the relevant date by a person to whom the said subparagraph applies, have effect as if the words " five per cent." were substituted for the words " four per cent.".

29. Subparagraph (1) of paragraph 6 of the Amendment Scheme of 1935 is hereby amended—

(a) by the insertion immediately after the word " pension " where it first occurs of the words " or a gratuity ", and

(b) by the substitution for the words " the Principal Scheme " of the words " any of the Secondary Teachers' Superannuation Schemes ".

30. (1) If, in accordance with an approved provision, a superannuation or other retiring award, payable otherwise than under the Secondary Teachers' Superannuation Schemes, 1929 to 1949, and this Scheme, is made in respect of service including approved teaching service given by a persn who was a member of the Principal Scheme when his approved teaching service ended, a contribution (in this paragraph referred to as the contribution) to the payments made under such award may be paid out of the pension fund.

(2) The amount of the contribution shall be determined by the Minister for Finance, who for this purpose shall take into accountonly such approved teaching service as is non-contributing service or contributing service, and amounts to not less than three years in all.

(3) The contribution shall be payable in one or more sums to the authority by whom the award is payable, and where the contribution is so paid to a Minister of State, it shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in accordance with the directions of the Minister for Finance.

(4) Paragraph 6 of the Amendment Scheme of 1935 (which authorises the payment, to an ex-member who is ineligible for pension or gratuity, of an amount equal to his contributions to the pension fund) shall not apply to an ex-member eligible to benefit under an approved provision for the reckoning of approved teaching service for a superannuation or other retiring award unless the Minister is satisfied that eligibility to benefit as aforesaid has been terminated.

(5) In this paragraph, the expression " approved provision " means a provision made in an Act of the Oireachtas or a provision the terms and conditions of which have been approved by the Minister for Finance.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 24th day of February, 1951.

RISTEÁRD UA MAOLCHATHA,

Minister for Education.

I consent to the foregoing Scheme.

P. McGILLIGAN,

Minister for Finance.