The Church of Ireland Pensions Board today made its report to the Church of Ireland General Synod.

Due to financial pressures on the fund, the Board, in conjunction with the Representative Church Body, have submitted a bill (article on Bill No. 2) to the General Synod that seeks to alter the terms of the pension scheme to safeguard the sustainability of the fund.

Presenting the report to the General Synod, the Ven. Donald McLean (Derry) compared the recent period for the Pensions Board to the title of the great Spaghetti Western The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. The good years had given way to the bad years of tightening investment income and difficult demographics, he explained, and the recent turmoil of international finance markets had ushered in an ugly period for pensions.

If passed, the Bill would raise the normal age of retirement by two years to 67 for those who join the Fund, or re-join after ceasing to contribute for a period, after 31st December 2008.

The Bill would also alter early and late retirement tables for all serving clergy who continue in service after 31st December 2008 and will make changes in accordance with statutory changes in the United Kingdom, which will mean that it is only possible to commute a portion of a person’s pension upon their actual retirement and not upon their achieving the normal age of retirement.

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

At the recommendation of the Board there was an increase of 3.9 per cent for pensions payable in sterling and 4.6 per cent for pensions payable in euro in 2008. The increases are in line with inflation.

The report was received by members of the General Synod without debate.