Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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568. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the degree to which efforts are being made to award State pensions to those men and women whose contribution record was interrupted for family or other reasons; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26916/18]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The Roadmap for Pensions Reform 2018-2023 sets out how the Government intends to introduce and implement a Total Contributions Approach (TCA) to calculating entitlement for all new state pension contributory claims from 2020 onwards.

The criteria required for a full pension under that new approach have not yet been determined, and are currently subject to a public consultation which I launched on 28th May and which will be open until 3^rdSeptember. Issues such as the number of years required for a full pension are addressed in the consultation questions, and in the accompanying documentation. The final details will not be decided upon until I have considered the submissions received in this process.

This public consultation is available on my Department’s website and I would encourage all interested stakeholders to contribute to the survey there.

Separately, under an interim Total Contributions Approach I announced in January, a person who reached pension age after 1 September 2012 (i.e. who is among those affected by the new rate-bands introduced from that date) and who has a 40 year record of paid and credited social insurance contributions, subject to a maximum of 20 years of credits, will qualify for a maximum contributory pension where they satisfy the other qualifying conditions for the scheme. Up to 20 years of HomeCaring credits, and/or 10 years of other qualifying credits, for example when unemployed or ill, may be used, subject to the total number of credits not exceeding 20 years.

Legislation has to be drafted and enacted to enable implementation of these arrangements with effect from 30^thMarch 2018. Following this, IT solutions must be developed in line with that legislation.

Pensioners do not need to contact the Department about this. Instead, the Department will invite over 50,000 pensioners, who were assessed under the current rate bands in place since 2012, to have their pensions recalculated under this interim TCA solution to determine if they qualify for a higher rate of entitlement. The Department expects to send out these invitations from Quarter 4 of 2018 and to begin payments, including arrears for any period from 30 March 2018, from Quarter 1 of 2019.

I hope this clarifies matters for the Deputy.