Written answers

Thursday, 8 May 2008

Department of Agriculture and Food

Farm Retirement Scheme

5:00 pm

Photo of Damien EnglishDamien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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Question 374: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will re-examine a case for a person (details supplied) in County Meath regarding his early retirement farm pension; if he will liaise with the Department of Social and Family Affairs on same; if the moneys clawed back from this person's pension will be reinstated to him; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17705/08]

Photo of Brendan SmithBrendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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It is a requirement of the EU Council Regulation under which the 1994 Early Retirement Scheme was introduced that the Early Retirement Pension can be paid only as a supplement to any national retirement pension to which the participant, and his or her spouse or partner in a joint management arrangement, is entitled. This means that the entire value of any such national retirement pension awarded from age 66 must be deducted from the Early Retirement Pension.

For the purposes of the Scheme, a participant's national retirement pension includes his/her Personal Rate and any Adult Dependant Allowance, Child Dependant Allowance or Living Alone Allowance payable, as a spouse or dependant child does not have an independent right to the pension.

In the case of the person named, as he is in receipt of a Child Dependant Allowance my Department is obliged to offset this amount against his Early Retirement pension.

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