80% of teachers leave before retirement age

Four out of five primary school teachers who retired last year had not reached the official retirement age.

Figures published by the Department of Education show 539 out of 654 teachers at primary school level who retired during 2015 did so on a voluntary basis. The annual cost of paying pensions to retired teaching staff rose by over €30m last year to €739m.

A total of 392 teachers who retired were aged under 60 — around 60% of all retirees.