Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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72. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the impact in 2015 of previously announced social protection measures which have not yet come fully into effect including those relating to the one parent family payment and eligibility for the State pension contributory; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33322/14]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The one-parent family payment (OFP) scheme is in the process of being reformed. These reforms were introduced in the Social Welfare and Pensions Act, 2012, and contain provisions to reduce, on a phased basis, the maximum age limit of the youngest child at which an OFP recipient’s payment ceases to 7 years for recipients from 2 July, 2015. This reform aims to bring Ireland’s support for lone parents in line with other European Union countries. It also aims to provide the necessary supports to lone parents to help them to escape poverty by providing them with improved access to education, training, and employment programmes.

The last phase of the OFP scheme age reductions, when the maximum age limit of the youngest child at which an OFP recipient’s payment ceases will be reduced to 7 years, will take effect from 2 July, 2015. It is expected that approximately 36,000 lone parents will be transitioning from their OFP payment on that date – with the vast majority of them moving to another social welfare income support payment.

It is expected that most affected lone parents will transition to the jobseeker’s allowance (JA) payment or to the JA transitional arrangement. Other lone parents will transition to either the family income supplement (FIS) or a full-rate carer’s allowance.

The income disregard of the OFP scheme is also being reduced on a phased basis for new and existing recipients of the payment. The income disregard will be reduced to €75 per week in January, 2015, and to €60 per week in January, 2016.

With regard to the Deputy’s query about the state pension (contributory), the gradual increase in the state pension age to 68 years was legislated for in the Social Welfare and Pensions Act, 2011. In January, 2014, the state pension age was standardised at 66 years with the cessation of the state pension (transition). The state pension age will increase to 67 years in 2021 and to 68 years in 2028.

Currently, a person’s date of entry into insurance is taken as the date used for averaging purposes. To qualify for a state pension, a person must:

- have entered insurance before the age of 66 years;

- have at least 520 paid PRSI contributions; and

- satisfy a yearly average (i.e. a yearly average of 48 PRSI contributions paid and/or credited is required for a full-rate pension).

The main social welfare payment that is available to those who leave employment before pension age is jobseeker’s benefit (JB). People who qualify for the JB payment who are aged between 65 and 66 years are generally entitled to receive payment up to the date on which they reach pensionable age (i.e. 66 years). In addition, with effect from 1 January, 2014, fully unemployed jobseekers aged 62 years or over have been placed on yearly signing and given the option of transferring to EFT payments. They are not subject to mandatory activation measures, but may avail of employment supports, which will continue to be available to them, and they will not be subject to mandatory activation-related sanctions.

The Deputy may wish to note that the majority of people who went into receipt of the state pension (transition) did not come from work as most of them were already on other social welfare schemes. In December, 2012, there were approximately 14,400 state pension (transition) claims in payment and, of those; just 12.5% came from work. Over 50% came from other social welfare schemes such as illness benefit, jobseeker’s benefit and assistance, and invalidity and carers, indicating that significant numbers of people are leaving the workforce, for a variety of reasons, well in advance of state pension age.

Finally, social welfare supports will continue to be available to those who need them the most and, where a person fails to meet the qualifying conditions of a social insurance-based scheme, a means-tested assistance payment may be available to them, provided that they satisfy the necessary qualifying conditions. All short-term social welfare schemes are payable to the age of 66 years.