Chief Justice raises pension tax concerns with Kenny

In a meeting with Enda Kenny recently, the Chief Justice raised concerns about how the reduction in the standard fund threshold to €2.3m would affect judges’ pensions.

An article in the Irish Times yesterday, 27th April, alludes to the fact that there is a difference between the valuation methods used for public and private sector pensions.  What it doesn’t highlight, however, is the effect of these differing valuation methods.

For an individual in the public sector, the threshold equates to an annual income in retirement of €115,000.  For someone in the private sector with a defined contribution pension scheme, the same fund threshold equates to an annual income in retirement of €60,000.  It would be interesting to know how they justify this difference in treatment.

I also wonder whether the Chief Justice asked Enda Kenny about the plans in the Fine Gael manifesto to further reduce the standard fund threshold to €1.5m.

Jennie Faughnan