§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the retirement ages that apply to the employees of his Department and its agencies, including how many and which categories of employees are affected by each; and if he will make a statement on his Department's policy on flexible retirement. [32827]
§ Dr. John ReidThe information is as follows:
Northern Ireland civil servants (NICS) Maximum retirement age Number of staff in post Grade D2 and D1 appointed before 1 April 1996 65 318 Grade D2 and D11 appointed after April 1 1996 60 267 All grades (excluding D2 and D1)1 60 912 Exceptional cases1 65 8 1 The Department may, in exceptional cases, retain an officer, who would otherwise be required to retire at 60 where it is satisfied that it is in the overriding interest of the service to do so.
Home civil servants (HCS) Category Maximum retirement age Number of staff ain post All grades 60 176 Exceptional cases at departmental discretion 0 10 NICS retirement policy
The current normal age of retirement rules require that all staff, with the exception of those in grades below grade C who were in post on 31 March 1996, are normally retired at age 60. This policy was adopted in 1996 after 764W detailed analysis of business needs indicated it was necessary, in light of severe financial pressures and to help avoid the need for compulsory redundancies.
Conditions have changed since then and the policy is currently under review, although it is too early yet to give any indication of what the outcome might be.
HCS retirement policy
The normal age is 60 for all grades. However, retention beyond age 60 in exceptional cases remains at departmental discretion.