Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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259. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans to improve the State pension, contributory, for persons who left the workforce to rear families and are now on a reduced State pension due to same; her further plans to rectify this unfair situation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40219/18]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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On 23 January last, I proposed and Government agreed to my proposal that will allow pensioners affected by the 2012 changes in rate bands to have their pension entitlement calculated on a Total Contributions basis, including a new provision for up to 20 years of home-caring periods to be recognised in the calculation of payment rates.

A number of elements have to be put in place to facilitate the implementation of these changes. Legislation has to be enacted to enable implementation of these arrangements and an information technology system has to be developed and tested. My Department is currently working on these projects and both are at a very advanced stage. In addition, my Department is currently designing procedures and assigning staff to process reviews of pensions.

My Department will be writing to impacted customers in the next two months to explain to them what is happening and how the process of review will work. As I have stated previously, it is still planned to commence these reviews before the end of this year, with the first payments being made in the first quarter of 2019, backdated, where relevant, to the end of March 2018, or later where a person attained their 66th birthday since that date.

It is not necessary for people to contact the Department on this matter. Once the legislation is enacted and the systems and processes are ready, my Department will then write again to the people impacted and provide them with the opportunity to have their pension calculation reviewed.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.