Pensions

Universities given €139m pensions bailout as retirees live longer

Emergency injection of state funds was approved by the Dáil last month and brought the total contribution to university pensions funds up to €224m

Trinity College Dublin: the increasing number of retired university staff in Ireland drawing pensions has led to a funding shortfall. Picture: Fergal Phillips

The country’s universities were given a €139 million pensions bailout after officials warned that they were running out of money to pay retired staff who are living longer.

Officials in the Department of Further and Higher Education warned the Department of Public Expenditure in September last year that the pensions black hole for five universities was “accumulating sharply”, and might prevent university accounts being signed off.

“Absent a sustainable resolution, this has the potential to ...