Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 129: To ask the Minister for Social Protection when the Social Welfare Bill will be published; when those who are approaching eligibility for partial State contributory pensions will receive clarification on their future entitlements in view of the fact that the lack of implementation of measures announced in Budget 2012 has created uncertainty for future financial planning; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11787/12]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Social Welfare Act 2011, which was enacted on 19 December 2011, gave legislative effect to a number of social welfare measures arising from Budget 2012. It will also be necessary to bring forward a further Social Welfare Bill to enact a number of other measures announced in Budget 2012, which are due to take effect early in 2012. This Bill will also provide for a range of other amendments to the social welfare code arising from policy, administrative or operational matters. Work is currently underway on drafting the required legislative changes and it is envisaged that this Bill will be published towards the end of March 2012.

One of the measures announced in Budget 2012 is a change to the rates bands for the State contributory pension which is being introduced from September 2012. The changes to the rates bands, as outlined below, will not be included in this Bill but will be introduced by Regulation in advance of September 2012

With effect from September 2012, the rate band of between 20 and 47 yearly average contributions will be replaced with new rate bands of between:-

(i) 40 and 47 yearly average contributions

(ii) 30 and 39 yearly average contribution and

(iii) 20 and 29 yearly average contributions.

Therefore, the rate of State pension (contributory) paid to new applicants will be appropriate to the average number of contributions paid over a working life. Those who have fewer contributions will receive a lower rate of pension. The maximum rate is unchanged as is the rate for those with yearly average contributions of between 40 and 47. While existing pension recipients are unaffected, the changes proposed will apply to new claimants from September 2012.

Claimants who qualify for a reduced rate of State pension (contributory) and who have income needs may qualify, depending on their means, for a higher rate of State pension (non-contributory). Details of the new rates bands for both State pension (transition) and State pension (contributory) are set out at the end of this reply. Customers will be notified of their future entitlements when their claim is processed. In general, applications for State pension transition (SPT) should be submitted at least 4-5 months before a person reaches his/her 65th birthday while applications for State pension contributory (SPC) should be submitted at least 4-5 months before reaching age 66. In advance of this a person can request a copy of their contribution records from the Central Records Section of the Department.

Changes to Rate Bands