Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

67. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the facilities in her Department to examine all aspects of applications for contributory State pension, where the applicant refers to information relating to employment not included in the calculations which determined entitlement to a full pension or part thereof; if she is satisfied that adequate provision is being made to examine all aspects of other employments which, while not recorded, may have carried an entitlement to a contributory State pension at a later date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33629/15]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

In assessing a State pension (contributory) application, a Deciding Officer will carefully note the applicant’s employment history details and will check against all available records and information sources within the Department to ensure that the pension is correctly assessed and the highest possible rate of state pension contributory is awarded.

Where an applicant indicates that they have been insurably employed in Ireland and abroad, the Department liaises with the relevant Pension Authority of the other EU Member State(s), or country(ies) with which Ireland has a Bilateral Social Security Agreement, to ensure that the applicant’s state pension entitlements in those countries and Ireland are fully considered.

Applicants for state pension contributory are asked to provide as much employment history detail as possible to allow the Deciding Officer to corroborate their insurance record as fully as possible. The Deciding Officer’s decision letter includes details of the record relied upon when making their decision, and the claimant is asked to check it for accuracy and completeness. It is open to the claimant to notify the Deciding Officer where gaps or omissions relating to periods of insurable employment are found and to provide details of the any missing employment history so that the Department may examine the matter. Where sufficient evidence or information is furnished, an Inspector of the Department is asked to investigate the matter fully. In some cases, the Inspector’s findings may result in a claimant’s insurance record being updated and their pension entitlement reviewed by a Deciding Officer.