Hundreds of public servants facing pension shortfall

Hundreds of public servants face receiving a shortfall in their pensions when they retire because of an error in their PRSI classification.

Pensions Ombudsman Paul Kenny has confirmed that he has been aware of the error for some time and is now urging public bodies to review their files.

The issue affects public servants who were temporary before 1995, but made permanent afterwards.

Temporary workers used to pay a higher level of PRSI, but when people were made permanent, they should have been changed to the lower PRSI rate, but many were not.

As a result they ended up overpaying PRSI and underpaying into their pension.