Revisions to a pension income are also carried out to take into account latest negotiated agreements, also referred to as collective agreements.
Over a period of time, companies revise their collective agreements to improve their employees’ wages and working conditions. Collective agreements not only provide better wages, benefits and working conditions to their employees but also to past employees, giving pensioners who would had had service with the companies the opportunity to see an increase in their weekly pension rate, and hence better their pension.
Revisions in the latter case are therefore made according to salaries and job designations covered by the respective collective agreements. These increases, however, cannot exceed the Maximum Pensionable Income which stands at €243.81 for year 2020.
When there is no formal agreement in place, revision in pension rate takes place according to salaries being earned by person/s who would have resumed retiree’s work. In these cases the Department of Social Security asks for the yearly salaries being earned by the ‘new’ employee who would have replaced the pensioner and assumed his / her responsibilities — having the same terms and conditions of employment.