Defence Forces pensioners paid €230m last year

Military personnel recruited after 1994 are required to retire after 20 years of service if they have not been promoted to sergeant, while the vast majority of officers must retire by the age of 58.

Pension payments for former members of the Defence Forces and their dependents amounted to more than €230 million last year, as 636 ex-military personnel joined the growing ranks of the retired.

A total of 13,247 individuals are now on the military pension payroll — almost 4,700 more than are currently serving in the Permanent Defence Forces (PDF), according to records released under freedom of information laws.