Defence Forces facing 'looming retention crisis' over removal of supplementary pension

The supplementary pension, which was provided to members between the mandatory retirement age of 62 and the State pension age, was removed in 2013.

The Defence Forces is facing a “looming retention crisis” over changes made for new recruits in 2013, which removed a supplementary pension between retirement age and State pension age.

The annual conference of the Representative Association of Commissioned Officers (Raco) heard that in the first class of recruits in 2013, more than 50% have left the organisation after serving 12 years — with the pension problem cited as the reason.

Raco president Lieutenant Colonel Martin Ryan strongly criticised the “head-in-the-sand” approach of military management and Government departments on the issue.

The association’s annual delegate conference, in Trim, Co Meath, heard a series of speeches from young officers calling for the previous entitlement of the supplementary provision — removed from 2013 — to be reinstated.

Lieutenant Elina Mats of the 1 Brigade said the new pension system “undermines recruitment and retention” and creates a situation where people are doing the same work, but entitled to “vastly different” pensions.

She said the military presents unique demands of members, including overseas deployments and protracted separation from family, which the supplementary pension recognised.

She said more than 50% of the post-2013 recruits had so far left to take up civilian employment.

Captain Philip Dowling of the 1 Brigade said he entered in 2013 and that of his class, 11 had left and only nine remained.

He said if this was not addressed it would continue.

Captain David Sutton of the Naval Service said there was an “impending crisis” facing the organisation as more officers leave as they age.

He said when officers retire, their State pension of €15,500 would be “taken away” from their pension, until they reach State retirement age of 66.

Lt Col Ryan said this was a recurring motion at conference and there was now a realisation from the first class post-2013: “It is trending one way, there is a retention crisis and a head-in-the-sand approach by military management and political masters. Recruitment can’t solve all issues and currently it's very difficult to encourage post-2013 recruits to remain at the job.” 

He said many would leave well before they near the age of 62, when they must retire, in order to have some prospects of getting a private sector job.

On a separate issue, Captain Stephen Shannon of the air corps committee said young pilots are on low pay and allowances in the first years of their training — a situation that only changes in the last year of their 12-year contract.

He said in recent years there had been an increase in the “operational tempo” of the air corps not least in the maritime security environment and in the Lebanon.

He said Beirut was like a “commuter service” in recent times such is the number of flights there and back.

With Ireland’s presidency of the EU, he said almost the entire fleet of the air corps is flying for the defence and foreign affairs meetings at Druids Glen, Co Wicklow — something, he said, he had never seen before.

The conference heard a young pilot could be a mission commander for a cash escort carrying €15m and be in receipt of a €3,190 annual allowance, less than the allowance for a member with a foreign language professional allowance.

• Cormac O’Keeffe, security correspondent