The General Synod of the Church of Ireland today debated a bill to amend the Clergy Pensions scheme. The Church of Ireland Clergy Pensions Board indicated in its 2007 Report to General Synod that it has been considering amendments to the scheme to maintain the solvency of the Clergy Pensions Fund in the long term.

Opposing the Bill on its first reading, the Ven. Philip Patterson (Down) argued that “the Bill is repugnant in its whole effect. It is unfair and it ought to be opposed.”

The Ven. Patterson argued that new entrants to the Clergy Pensions scheme should enter the scheme on the same terms as those already in the scheme, and that additional funds should be found by a means other than having alternative terms for new entrants.

Lady Sheil (Down) responded by saying that the Bill was “brought in good faith by the Church of Ireland Pensions Board and the Representative Church Body to try and maintain an excellent and sustainable defined benefits scheme.”

After Lady Sheil outlined some of the alternative ideas for reforming the Clergy Pensions scheme, the Bill passed its first reading by an overwhelming majority and the General Synod went into committee immediately for the second reading.

The Revd Ted Woods (Dublin), a member of the Pensions Board, told members of the General Synod that “unpalatable paths and options were considered and the path outlined in this Bill was the most palatable of the options considered.”

“Many of the people going for ordination today will not do 45-years service as they are coming in mid-career. Therefore this will affect very, very few” he said.

The Bill passed its second reading and is now clear for its third reading on Thursday.

If passed, the Bill will amend Chapters VI and XIV of the Constitution to raise the normal retirement age from sixty-five to sixty-seven for those who join the Fund, or rejoin the Fund having ceased to contribute for a period, from 1st January 2009.

The Bill would also alter early and late retirement tables for all serving clergy who continue in service after 31st December 2008.

The Bill also provides for new statutory provisions that were enacted in the United Kingdom. Previously, clergy were able to access a portion of their pension upon reaching the normal retirement age without necessarily having to retire. The Bill, in keeping with statutory law, will mean that it is only possible to commute a portion of a person’s pension upon their actual retirement.

The old arrangements will remain in place for clergy in the Republic of Ireland.