Retired HSE staff who worked during covid lose pension pay
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A retired HSE worker who returned to help during the pandemic said she was horrified that money was taken from her pension this year after a significant bill was issued by her former employers.
She is among former staff concerned an agreement made in 2020, that returning to work during the crisis would not affect pensions, is not being applied.
“We were totally blindsided by this,” the woman, who asked not to be named, said.
“No one would be working for nothing, and to be treated like this after working your entire career there. I just thought, who didn’t do their job?”
She is the second person to tell the that money has been taken out of their pension.
Distressed staff have also said they sent annual pension declaration forms to the HSE but were not told that working would affect this.
“There was no communication, the communication was the bill,” the woman said.
Some people are facing bills ranging up to €20,000.
The Department of Health said it informed the HSE of a decision by the Department for Public Expenditure and Reform to end a temporary waiver of pension abatement in January 2021.
HSE HR then sent out a circular saying the waiver would cease in March.
This was shared with 15 managerial levels, a spokeswoman said.
Managers were advised “no further extensions to the temporary blanket waiver would be granted” except on a limited case-by-case basis.