Ill-Health Retirement

Information on retiring from TUS on medical or health-related grounds.

If you meet the required vesting period and retire from TUS on medical grounds, additional ill-health years may be added to your pensionable service. This may result in a pension and lump sum becoming payable from a date set by the relevant authority. The award of these benefits is entirely at the discretion of TUS.

To qualify, you must have at least five years of reckonable service, or two years if you are a member of the Single Public Service Pension Scheme.

Additional Service for Ill-Health Retirement

Pre 2013 Schemes

As well as your actual service you may be awarded added years. This is where additional years of pensionable service are added to your actual service. This only applies if you are a member of a pre-existing pension scheme (started before 1 January 2013).

Added years are calculated by your length of service and your age at the date of retirement. This is to compensate you because you have to retire early due to medical reasons.

Spouses and Children

You will owe contributions towards your spouse’s and children’s scheme (if applicable) for potential service to age 65. This ensures that your spouse and dependents will receive the maximum pension payments in the event of your death. The cost is 1% of your final salary for every year owed. This is deducted from your lump sum on retirement.

Additional Information on Ill-Health Retirement

If you believe you may be eligible for ill-health early retirement, please contact pensions.midlands@tus.ie for Midlands employees & pensions.midwest@tus.ie for Midwest employees. You should also inform your Head of Department of your intention to apply.

Employees who apply are typically on long-term sick leave and are either currently availing of, or have exhausted, their entitlements under TUS’s sick pay scheme, including the Temporary Rehabilitation Remuneration (TRR) period.

If you are availing of, or have fully exhausted, your sick pay benefits and have not submitted an application, TUS reserves the right to contact you to discuss the possibility of ill-health early retirement.

Eligibility for Ill-Health Retirement

To evaluate your eligibility for ill-health retirement, you will be referred to TUS’s occupational health provider, EHA. Additional medical information and documentation may be required from your GP and/or specialist, and EHA reserves the right to contact them directly to obtain the necessary details.

If the medical assessment confirms your eligibility for ill-health retirement, the TUS Pensions Team will provide you with:

Retirement benefit statements, including any entitlements arising under the ill-health retirement provisions.
Forms required for tax and Revenue purposes.
Details of any additional conditions relating to the payment of your pension benefits.

If your health improves or you become fit to undertake paid employment, your ill-health retirement benefits may be withdrawn, suspended, or reduced, depending on the specific circumstances.