Hundreds of employees in the public service are getting a special supplementary pension, following changes in the qualifying age for the State pension.
In the case of the Health Service Executive, 219 pensioners are in receipt of supplementary pensions.
The extra pension in the HSE is €9,012.75 per annum.
This is payable in addition to any accrued occupational pension.
In the civil service, 73 people are in receipt of a supplementary pension.
This is worth on average €2,616 per pensioner.
The supplementary pensions came about because the age of eligibility for the State pension has risen to 66.
Most public employees are forced to retire at 65, leaving many with a period of at least a year when their income falls dramatically.
Because these retirees do not qualify (in full or in part) for Jobseeker's Allowance for that year, the administrators of public pensions pay the supplement.
Dozens of other public sector pension schemes are understood to be operating an identical system.
The State pension qualifying age rises to 67 in 2021 and 68 in 2028.
If there was no other change, public pension funds would be paying an extra three years of special supplementary pensions by 2028.
