THE NUMBER of teachers opting for retirement has risen sharply, according to new figures from the Department of Education.
Nearly 1,700 school teachers and principals at primary and second level had applied for retirement by the beginning of this month compared to just over 1,300 for the whole of last year.
Fears of a tax on their pension lump sum and the impact of the pension levy is believed to have encouraged more people to leave the service.
The trend is particularly noticeable at primary level, where 940 teachers and principals had applied for retirement by the beginning of this month compared to 694 for the whole of last year.
More second-level teachers are also opting to leave – about 740 teachers and principals at secondary, community and comprehensive schools have so far applied for retirement, compared to 617 for the whole of last year.
In all, 1,680 teachers in primary, secondary comprehensive and community level have opted to retire so far this year, compared to 1,311 for the whole of last year. The department does not have figures for teachers in the VEC structure.
A spokesperson for the department said that more applications may be received later in the year, adding however that this “should represent the bulk of them as most teachers retire at the end of August.”
Two big drivers of the trend are fears that the pension lump sum will be taxed and also the impact of the pension levy, says INTO general secretary John Carr. He believes a reduction in promotional opportunities is also discouraging teachers from remaining in the system past the 40 years service mark.
Teachers generally retire at around age 60 after 40 years service with full pension. However, they can retire after age 55 with 33 years service and a smaller pension or they may take the option of retiring at 50 but with a severely reduced pension.
“I think more people are taking early retirement – many people are looking at it and seeing the impact of the pay and education cuts, class sizes rising, funding cuts,” Mr Carr said.
“All these issues are influencing people’s decision to retire early – some are retiring with less than their 40 years service. Others are retiring as soon as they reach 40 years service, even though they could continue to teach for another number of years,” he said, adding however that the trend could result in opportunities for newly qualified teachers.
The ASTI is expecting a higher than usual number of teachers to retire at the end of this year: “People fear their pension lump sum will be taxed – that’s the major driver. There’s also the fact that the pension levy has cut their wages, so they are earning far less than last year,” says its general secretary, John White.
Larger class sizes and cutbacks in grant allowances were also a factor, he said.
The Teachers’ Union of Ireland estimates that so far this year, the retirement rate of principals and deputy principals in the VEC sector – at about 130 — is about twice what it was last year, according to its deputy general secretary, Annette Dolan.
“The number of inquiries about retirements have at least doubled. They’re ringing up to find out if the pension lump sum will be taxed or not.
“There is a huge amount of anxiety, but we cannot inform people because we don’t know either. People are awaiting the publication of the Commission on Taxation report in the autumn.
“If the commission recommends taxing all lump sums without a threshold I believe there will be a considerable increase in the retirements of teachers. You need to be encouraging teachers to remain in the system, not to leave it, as there is this loss of a huge wealthy of experience.”