These examples are based on the full State Contributory Pension, projected estimates of the value of auto enrolment and calculations on the approximate value of pension benefits in the single public service pension scheme, as such they are illustrative and for reference only.

Example 1

A secretary 56 years old who works 60% of the standard 37 hour week with full service, now on point 12 of the scale, will receive a Gratuity of €12,000 on retirement.

Current pension entitlement  

• State Old Age Pension – €15,563
• Auto Enrolment pension at 66 years – €823
• Current total annual pension income will be – €16,386
• Lump sum from auto enrolment will be – €5,830

Annual Pension Comparison  

• Public service scheme annual pension plus State Old Age Pension at retirement would be €1,622 + €15,563 = €17,185
• Auto-enrolment annual pension plus State Old Age Pension will be €823 + €15,563= €16,386

 Lump sum comparison 

• Public service scheme lump sum would be €10,485
• Auto-enrolment lump sum plus Gratuity will be €5,830 + €12,000 = €17,830
• The €12,000 Gratuity is designed to bridge the gaps between the auto-enrolment annual pension provision and the Public Service entitlements.

Example 2

A caretaker 56 years old who works 50% of the standard 39-hour week with full service will receive a Gratuity of €10,000 on retirement.

Current pension entitlement 

• State pension – €15,563
• Auto Enrolment pension at 66 years – €580
• Current total annual pension income will be – €16,143
• Lump sum from auto enrolment will be – €4,107

Annual Pension Comparison 

• Public service scheme annual pension plus State Old Age Pension at retirement would be €1,153 + €15,563 = €16,716
• Auto enrolment annual pension plus State Old Age Pension will be €580 + €15,563= €16,143

Lump sum comparison 

• Public service scheme lump sum would be €7,455 
• Auto enrolment lump sum plus Gratuity will be €4,107 + €10,000 = €14,107

The €10,000 Gratuity is designed to bridge the gaps between the auto enrolment annual pension provision and the Public Service entitlements.

Example 3

A caretaker 56 years old who works 100% of the full 39-hour standard week with full service will receive a Gratuity of €20,000

Current pension entitlement 

• State Old Age Pension – €15,563
• Auto Enrolment pension at 66 years – €1,160
• Current total annual pension income will be – €16,723
• Lump sum from auto enrolment will be – €8,215

Annual Pension Comparison 

• Public service scheme annual pension plus State Old Age Pension at retirement would be €2,306 + €15,563 = €17,869
• Auto enrolment annual pension plus State Old Age Pension will be €1,160 + €15,563= €16,723

 Lump sum comparison 

• Public service scheme lump sum would be €14,911
• Auto enrolment lump sum plus Gratuity will be €8,215 + €20,000 = €28,215
• The €20,000 Gratuity is designed to bridge the gaps between the auto enrolment annual pension provision and the Public Service entitlements.

Example 4

A secretary 56 years old who works 100% of the full 37-hour standard week with full service on point 14 will receive a €20,000 Gratuity

Current pension entitlement 

• State Old Age Pension – €15,563
• Auto Enrolment pension at 66 years – €9,838
• Current total annual pension income will be – €25,401
• Lump sum from auto enrolment will be – €9,838

Annual Pension Comparison 

• Public service scheme annual pension plus State Old Age Pension at retirement would be €2,754 + €15,563 = €18,317
• Auto enrolment annual pension plus State Old Age Pension will be €1,389 + €15,563= €16,952

 Lump sum comparison 

• Public service scheme lump sum would be €17,808
• Auto enrolment lump sum plus Gratuity will be €9,838 + €20,000 = €29,838

The €20,000 Gratuity is designed to bridge the gaps between the auto enrolment annual pension provision and the Public Service entitlements.

Frequently Asked Questions 

1. Who qualifies for the Gratuity?

Any member who is over the age of 40 years and has some service up to the end of 2025 qualifies. Those members will full service from 2015 onwards receive 4x€600x10.5 capped at €20,000. Members with 5 years service up to the end of 2025 receive 4x€600x5 which is €12,000.

2. How much is the Gratuity for part time staff?

The Gratuity is pro rata depending on your working hours. A full working week is 37 hours for a Secretary and 39 hours for a Caretaker. If you work 2.5 days or half the full time hours then the Gratuity amount will be €10,000.

3. How do I work out what I would receive?

Fórsa has asked our own expert actuaries to produce a pension modeller showing current entitlements including auto enrolment, what entitlements would be in the public service pension scheme and what the effect of the Gratuity will be. This should be available shortly.

4. How is this comparable with the public service pension scheme?

There are shortfalls in pension provision between the phased to enrolment introduced at the start of 2026 and the single public service scheme. Auto enrolment for the over 40 year age group produces a lower annual pension and a lower lump sum. The Gratuity is designed to bridge those gaps. For instance if there is a gap in pension provision of €500 per annum and a gap of €3,000 in the lump sum, the provision of a €10,000 Gratuity ensures the same lump sum payment and the equivalent annual pension for 14 years.

5. Why is there no retrospection for all the years I have worked in the School?

The Union argued very strongly for full retrospection on pensions both in the WRC and in four successive Labour Court hearings. The Court maintained from the start of the first hearing that they did not and would not provide any form of retrospection. The Recommendation reflects that position.

6. Do retired staff benefit from the Gratuity?

No, only those staff in post on the date the Recommendation is accepted would benefit from the Gratuity.

7. When is the ballot to take place?

The ballot on acceptance or rejection will take place once negotiations on the remaining outstanding claims in the WRC have been completed. We will be pressing for the urgent resumption of those negotiations and we are available to attend further talks over the summer months.

8. How can I check what this means for me?

The best way to do that is to work out what proportion of full time hours you are working and then pro rata the €20,000 Gratuity figure as follows – 4 days a week = €16,000, 3 days a week = €12,000, 2 days a week = 8,000 etc.

The effect on annual pensions and lump sums can be worked out and the pensions modeller will be a useful tool to do this.

The following tables show how this can be calculated according to hours actually worked each week using the following calculation:

Hours worked each week divided by full time hours for a Caretaker (39) to find the WTE figure, then divide €20,000 by the WTE Fraction, e.g. 30 hours a week / 39 hours equals 0.77, then divide 20,000 by 100 and multiply by 77 = 15,400. The same calculation will work for Secretaries who have a full time working week of 37 hours.

Percentage of a 37-Hour Working Week – Secretaries

Each hour represents approximately 2.70% of a standard 37-hour working week. (If you have any difficulty viewing these tables on your device you can also access them HERE.)

               Percentage of a 39-Hour Working Week – Caretakers

Each hour represents approximately 2.56% of a standard 39-hour working week.

9. Will be Gratuity be increased before I retire?

The Gratuity will be increased when the cap on statutory redundancy is increased above the current €600. The last increase was in 2005, we cannot be certain when the next increase will happen.

10. Do I have to pay tax on the Gratuity?

No the Gratuity will be paid tax free.

11. Will the Government accept the Recommendation?

We do not know if the Government side will accept the Recommendation as they have not made any comment thus far (that may change).

12. Will we need to strike again to improve the Gratuity and if so for how long?

Yes, the only way to improve in the Labour Court Recommendation would be to take more strike action. In 2025 members took seven days of strike action which eventually resulted in the Recommendation that a Gratuity should be paid. It would require a longer strike, that would potentially close schools completely, to secure more favourable terms.

13. Does this mean that the full auto-enrolment pension will be the same as the public service scheme?

Full auto-enrolment will commence in nine years time. During the phased introduction, the scheme is less beneficial than the single public service scheme. The Government maintains that the investment returns will be very beneficial for those joining under the age of 40 years. Fórsa will monitor investment returns for the auto enrolment scheme very closely and review the position when we can see the first few years of investment returns.

14. I am over the age of 60 how can I join the auto enrolment scheme?

If you want to join the auto enrolment scheme you can do so at My Future Fund. You do not have to join, and you cannot do so if paying into another occupational pension where your employer makes contributions.

15. When will the Caretaker Pay structure be implemented?

The next priority issue in the WRC talks will be to finalise arrangements for the implementation of the new Caretaker pay stricture. The use of the ETB Caretaker pay scale has been agreed, we need to finalise the provision of a Caretaker allowance for out of hours/on call commitments, the facility to average salary over the whole year including weeks where job seekers benefit is claimed (this needs to be indexed linked for Secretaries and Caretakers as part of the WRC process) and finally we need to agree the effective date of implementation which is the amount of backdating available. We will strive to complete this work as soon as possible.

The scale agreed is based on the ETB Caretaker scale which increases in line with public sector pay awards and is copied below for reference:

16. Should we be balloted on the Pensions Recommendation straight away?

No, we need to complete discussions on the whole range of claims in the WRC. If we were to ballot on each claim separately, we would lose any leverage we might have in the next round of talks, we need to complete the process then conduct a ballot on the package of measures.

       17. Does this mean we have not secured public service status?

We did not secure full public service status at the end of the strike. The closest we came to that objective was the agreement that Secretaries and Caretakers should have comparable pensions with improved critical illness and sick leave as well as bereavement leave.

       18. What is the Fórsa view on the merits of the Recommendation?

We are pleased that the Court agreed with the Union position that phased auto-enrolment is less favourable than the public service pension scheme. The Gratuity will address that issue. We are disappointed that we were not able to achieve full recognition and retrospection regarding pensions for members. We argued strongly for this to be awarded but the Labour Court decided against awarding this.