Written answers

Wednesday, 4 February 2015

Department of Social Protection

State Pension (Contributory) Eligibility

Photo of Michael CreedMichael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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50. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding entitlement to payment of pro-rata contributory pensions where the applicant does not meet the full 520 contribution requirement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5165/15]

Photo of Joan BurtonJoan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The State pension contributory is a very valuable benefit and is the bedrock of the Irish pension system. Therefore, it is important to ensure that those qualifying have made a sustained contribution to the Social Insurance Fund over their working lives. To ensure that the individual can maximise their entitlement to a State pension, all contributions paid over their working life from when they first enter insurable employment until pension age are taken into account when assessing their entitlement and the level of that entitlement.

To qualify for a state pension (contributory) a person must –

* have at least 520 paid contributions and

* satisfy a yearly average condition (a yearly average of 48 contributions paid or credited is required for a full rate State pension (contributory), and reduced rates of payment may be payable for pensioners with lower averages).

Once over 16 years of age, the date a person enters into insurable employment is the date used for averaging purposes.

A mixed insurance pro-rata State pension is one of a number of qualifying methods introduced to ensure that as many people as possible qualify for a State pension contributory. This was introduced in 1991 and was designed to ensure that people who have contributed to the social insurance system at different rates receive a pension which reflects the proportion of full rate contributions which exists in their overall insurance record.

This pension is calculated by taking the total number of contributions (modified and full rate) a person has paid over their working life and applying the average contributions test to arrive at the rate which would be paid if all contributions were at the full rate. The actual rate to be paid is determined by the proportion of full rate contributions in the overall record. A similar arrangement applies when calculating pensions due under EU regulations or bilateral social security agreements.

For those with insufficient contributions to meet the requirements for a State pension (contributory), they may qualify for a means tested State pension (non-contributory), the maximum personal rate for which is €219.

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