Civil and public servants are due their latest union-negotiated pay and pension levy boosts from 1st January.

Three significant changes to the public service ‘additional superannuation contribution’, which replaced the so-called pension levy under the Public Service Stability Agreement, come into force today.

First, the threshold for paying the levy will rise to €32,000, bringing a net improvement of €325 a year for most civil and public servants. Those who currently earn less than €30,000 a year, who do not benefit from this change, will instead get a 1% pay increase from 1st January.

Those who currently earn less than €30,000 a year will get a 1% pay increase from 1st January.

Secondly, there’s a further boost for those who joined the public service after January 2013 and who are in the single public service pension scheme, which was introduced at that time. They will now pay only two-thirds of the additional contribution rate – a figure that will fall to one-third next year. This reflects the fact that the benefits of the single scheme are different from those in the older scheme.

Thirdly, the additional pension contribution will no longer be payable on any non-pensionable elements of public service incomes from January 2019.

There’s a further boost for those who joined the public service after January 2013 and who are in the single public service pension scheme. They will now pay only two-thirds of the additional contribution rate – a figure that will fall to one-third next year.

The PSSA, which was negotiated by Fórsa and other unions in 2017, will also deliver another 1.75% salary adjustment for all in September. Further pay boosts and another adjustment in the pension levy threshold are due next year.

The PSSA was accepted in ballots of the members of the three unions that amalgamated to create Fórsa earlier this year.

Earlier this year, the union also insisted on early measures to address the ‘new entrants’ pay issue even though, under the agreement, this was not bound to be dealt with until 2020 at the earliest.

Non-pay provisions in the PSSA include strong protections against outsourcing.