As part of the Human Resources Division’s Employee Health & Wellness Programme, a series of health screenings and information sessions are held in the Autumn and Spring semesters, to provide employees with advice on maintaining a healthy lifestyle. During these Employee Health & Wellness Weeks, employees will have the opportunity to avail of a range of health screenings including mini health checks, musculoskeletal screening and basic hearing screening. chair massage. Employees will also have the opportunity to visit the Marie Keating Foundation Mobile unit, to attend a “Money Skills for Life” lunchtime seminar and to meet with a representative from Aviva Healthcare to discuss health insurance.

In the Academic Year 2011/2012, the following health screenings and information sessions were offered to UL staff:

Autumn Semester 2011

Hearing Screening – Many people take hearing for granted, but the ear is an extraordinary and complex organ. For most people, hearing begins to deteriorate very gradually from their mid-thirties – and over time the hearing nerve can be damaged through wear and tear. As part of the Employee Health & Wellness Programme, the Human Resources Division in conjunction with Specsavers Hearing Centres, offered free basic Hearing Screening to interested employees.

Manage Your Taxes – The Human Resources Division invites employees to attend a lunchtime talk aimed at helping staff to better manage their finances in these recessionary times. In order to ensure you pay the right amount of tax, to ensure you know about your entitlements and to make claiming simple and straightforward, representatives from The Revenue Commissioners will be on campus to help simplify personal tax-related issues, including: tax credits and reliefs; tax refunds; PAYE; pension contributions; samples of tax forms and help/advice on completing them; and, online services. More information can be found at www.revenue.ie.

Aviva & Marsh – our group health insurance and group ICP providers came to UL for two days to advise employees in relation to their own personal insurance needs.

Spring Semester 2012

Mini Health Screening – two nurses from the Mid West Occupational Health clinic in Limerick are coming to UL for two full days to give cholesterol, blood glucose and blood pressure testing. Over 100 employees will be tested over the two days.

Musculoskeletal Screening – two physiotherapists from the Castletroy Physiotherapy clinic came to UL for one day to give employees a musculoskeletal test. This involved a brief interview followed by a musculoskeletal assessment. Following this assessment an appropriate exercise programme was prescribed. This exercise programme aims to help and prevent problems such as back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain etc. Approximately 50 employees were tested.

Money Skills for Life – a representative from the National Consumer Agency delivered a one hour lunchtime talk to employees and accompanied by an information booklet. Information was provided on the following topics: managing your money; protecting you, your family and your assets; borrowing money and getting credit; saving and investing; planning for retirement; making a complaint; and, dealing with debt. More information can be found on www.nca.ie.

Marie Keating Foundation Mobile Unit – the mobile unit was on campus for one day to provide information leaflets and / or one-to-one chats (in a private area), where employees could discuss any concerns they may have regarding cancer in relation to themselves, a relative, work colleague or friend.

Aviva – a representative from Aviva Healthcare was on campus for one day to advise employees in relation to their own personal insurance needs. More information can be found at www.avivahealth.ie.

The next Employee Health & Wellness Week will be held in Autumn 2012.

(i) The main benefits are a retirement pension and a lump sum payment.

(ii) Death Gratuity

(iii) Spouse & Children’s Pensions

 The HR Pensions team can you provide you with calculations for all of the above.

The Professional Added Years (PAY) Award Scheme may be availed of by staff who, because of the minimum qualifications and experience requirements pertaining to the post to which they were recruited, are not in a position to attain 40 years' service by age 65. All applications go before the Pensions Committee, who determine any potential award. PAY awards only mature upon retirement age of 60 or 65, depending on the pension scheme you are a member of.

No. Membership of the Spouse & Children’s scheme is compulsory for all Public Sector employees, regardless of marital status. The scheme also covers children born outside of marriage.

If upon retirement you are still single and without children, a refund of the Spouse & Children contributions can be refunded, less the appropriate deductions for tax.