Pensions | Retiring from DCU - Ill Health Retirement
Retiring from DCU - Ill Health Retirement
If you have completed the relevant ill-health vesting period and you retire on medical grounds, you may have a period of additional ill-health years added to your pensionable service, and have a pension and lump sum payable from a date determined by the relevant body. This is at the absolute discretion of DCU.
To be eligible, you must have completed at least five years of reckonable service (or two years for members of the Single Public Service Pension Scheme).
The most is 10 years but few employees qualify for this.
(a) a member whose actual pensionable service is between 5 and 10 years will be allowed an equivalent amount of ill-health added years, provided such added years do not exceed the additional amount of pensionable service the member would have had, if he or she served to age 65 or, if earlier, the date on which the member’s contract of employment would expire;
(b) a member whose actual pensionable service is between 10 and 20 years will be allowed the more favourable of—
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(i) added years equal to the period by which 20 years exceeds the member’s actual pensionable service, provided such added years does not exceed the additional amount of pensionable service the member would have had if he or she had served to 65 or, if earlier, to the date on which his or her contract of employment would expire;
or
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(ii) 6 years and 243 days, the added years not to exceed the additional amount of pensionable service the member would have had if he or she served to age 60 or, if earlier, to the date his or her contract of employment would expire;
(c) A member who has more than 20 years of actual pensionable service at retirement will be allowed added years, whichever is the lesser of—
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(i) 6 years and 243 days,
or
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(ii) the amount of additional service the member would have had, if he or she had served to age 60, or, if earlier, to the date on which his or her contract of employment would expire.
Ill-Health Enhancements (see guidance note)
If a Scheme member retires or is retired or discharged on medical grounds before completing the Single Scheme vesting period (2 years), he or she shall be eligible to receive a gratuity of 8.5% of actual pensionable remuneration in respect of the period of employment. Pension contributions up to the date of discharge or retirement on medical grounds will not be refunded in such cases1 .
If the Scheme member has completed the vesting period at the date of retirement or discharge on medical grounds, the pension and lump sum payable may be enhanced by the award of additional referable amounts, subject to certain limits and conditions, as set out below.
The monetary amounts on which the enhancement will be based are the higher of:
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the referable amounts (pension and lump sum) that accrued to the member in the most recent full year; or
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the average annual referable amounts (pension and lump sum) that accrued to the member in the 3 most recent full years
More important information for ill-health retirement
If you feel you may qualify for ill-health early retirement, get in touch with sickleave@dcu.ie or pensions@dcu.ie or the relevant HR Business Partner. Please let your Head of Department know you intend to apply.
Those who apply are usually on long-term sick leave and availing of (or have exhausted) their benefits under DCU’s sick pay scheme including the temporary rehabilitation remuneration (TRR) period.
If you’re availing of, or have exhausted all your benefits and have not applied, DCU reserves the right to contact you to discuss ill-health early retirement.
To assess the possibility of your ill-health retirement, you’ll be referred to DCU’s medical advisors, Medmark. It will need extra information and documents from your GP and/or consultant and reserves the right to contact them directly.
If the medical evidence supports your ill-health retirement, the HR Pensions Team will give you a retirement pack. This pack includes:
retirement benefit statements (including any benefits that arise under the ill-health retirement scheme)
other forms for tax and revenue purposes
other conditions relating to the payment.
If your health improves, or you become capable of paid employment, these ill-health benefits may be withdrawn, suspended or reduced, depending on the circumstances.