The Payroll Shared Service (PSS) has advised us of the change to the current process in place in relation to the processing of voluntary deductions from pensions (ie membership subscription for RCPSA, payments to insurance companies, deductions for Credit Unions etc). There is an ongoing project whereby the deductions will be centralised to a team within the National Shared Services Office (NSSO). The team will receive information directly from the deduction companies and no longer directly from the pensioner. As a consequence, forms to set up voluntary deductions from pension are no longer included in the retirement packs now being issued. It will be up to each new pensioner to contact each organisation in respect of which s/he wants deductions to be made. This is particularly important to ensure continuity of payments for insurance or Credit Union loans or savings.
The change in process applies only to pensioners whose pensions are paid by the PSS (mainly civil servants). The change will effect only those newly retiring, or existing retirees who are making a change to their deductions or service supplier (eg moving from one health insurer to another).
There are two main aspects of the change in process that pensioners need to be aware of:
1 The key reference that the NSSO requires in order to process a request for deductions (or a change in deductions) is the person’s pension number. Everyone who is in receipt of a pension has a pension number. People will be allocated a pension number when they retire. The number will be included in the starter letter which they will receive from the PSS.
2 All requests relating to membership of the RCPSA (eg application to join) must be sent to the RCPSA directly – see details below.
Please note that similar arrangements will apply in respect of any other voluntary deduction from pension (ie starting, amending or ceasing an insurance payment etc), namely that the pensioner should contact the relevant company directly and quote their pension number. The process is evolving and the timeframe may not be the same for all companies.
In summary, if you have any query about the deduction from your pension for the payment of your membership subscription to the RCPSA (ie starting, amending, ceasing membership etc) you should contact the RCPSA directly at info@rcpsa.ie or by post to Membership, The Hon. Secretary RCPSA, An Post Box 908, South City Delivery Office, Togher Industrial Estate, Cork, T12C825 or by phone on 087-131 7062. For queries about your pension, see contact details below.
Pension Queries
Queries about pension entitlement (eg pensionable service, reckonable remuneration, or calculation of lump sum or pension), should be directed to HRSS (Human Resources Shared Service) at pensions@nsso.gov.ie or by phone on 076-107-1000.
Any other queries about your pension (eg explanation of a change in amount or changing the bank account into which it is paid), should be directed to PSS at helpdesk@pssc.gov.ie, or at militarypensions@pssc.gov.ie for military retirees, or by phone on 076-100-2702.
