Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 132: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if credits can be backdated on the record of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 11 for the purposes of calculating State pension entitlement, for periods, prior to the introduction of carer's allowance or benefit, when that person was forced to leave the workforce to care for an adult dependant; if, in these circumstances, the number of years counted in calculating pension entitlement can be reduced by the number of years spent caring for an adult dependant; if not his views on extending entitlement in this regard in the next Social Welfare Act in view of the discriminatory impact of the current provisions on carers and particularly women; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38312/06]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

One of the qualifying conditions for state pension (contributory) requires a person to have a yearly average of 10 paid or credited contributions from 1953 or from the date of entry into insurance (whichever is the later) to the end of the last complete contribution year before reaching pension age. In order to qualify for the maximum rate a yearly average of 48 contributions is required.

The person concerned was awarded state pension (contributory) at 75% of the maximum rate, which is based on a yearly average of 16 contributions. According to my Department's records, she received carer's allowance from 1990 until July 1994 when the person being cared for died. Credits could not be awarded for the duration of the carer's allowance claim as more than 2 years had elapsed since the person concerned had last paid social insurance contributions. In line with the Government's commitment to ensuring that as many people as possible qualify for pensions in their own right, a number of measures have been introduced over the years which make it easier to qualify for contributory pensions. One of these is the reduction in the yearly average number of contributions required for pension purposes from 20 to 10 and the person concerned has benefited from this improvement.

The homemaker's scheme introduced by my Department in 1994 protects the social welfare pension rights of those who take time out of the workforce for caring duties. This scheme allows up to 20 years from 1994 onwards spent caring for children or incapacitated adults to be disregarded when a person's social insurance record is being averaged for pension purposes. The scheme will not of itself qualify a person for a pension as the standard qualifying conditions, which require a person to enter insurance 10 years before pension age, have a minimum of 260 paid contributions and achieve a yearly average of at least 10 contributions on their record from the time they enter insurance until they reach pension age must also be satisfied.

In general, changes to insurability of employment are not backdated and the same principle was applied to the homemaker's scheme in 1994. However, a review of the homemaker's scheme and other issues relating to social welfare pensions is taking place in the context of the forthcoming Green Paper on pensions, to which the Government is committed as part of the new social partnership agreement, Towards 2016. At this stage it is planned to publish the Green Paper by the end of March next year. A consultation process will then take place and the Government will publish a framework for future pensions policy later next year.