Written answers

Tuesday, 27 September 2022

Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection

Social Welfare Eligibility

Photo of Peter BurkePeter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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332. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if a person (details supplied) qualifies for the benefit payment for 65-year-olds. [47182/22]

Photo of Heather HumphreysHeather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The customer concerned has a strong employment record over a long number of years. However, in order to qualify for Benefit Payment for over 65s, the customer concerned must satisfy the contribution conditions for the scheme at this particular point in time.

Under Jobseekers Benefit legislation, the customer concerned would need 39 paid or credited A PRSI contributions in the relevant tax year ( GCY ) 2020 (or 26 paid in 2020 and 26 paid in 2019) – the customer concerned last paid full class A PRSI contributions in 2016 so cannot qualify for normal Jobseekers Benefit.

My Department examined whether the person concerned would qualify for Jobseekers Benefit for the Self Employed. In order to do this, the customer concerned would need to have 52 Self Employed contributions in the relevant tax year which they do. These contributions are solely from the fact that the Approved Retirement Fund (ARF) they hold attracts a self employed contribution. In order to qualify under Jobseekers Benefit for the Self Employed, self-employment must also have ceased. As the Approved Retirement Fund is ongoing, the customer concerned cannot on the one hand use the self employed contributions from this to establish an entitlement yet at the same time then want those contributions discounted or ignored when it comes to satisfying the 2nd condition of not being engaged in self-employment.

My officials have been reviewing the issue of the treatment of ARFs in relation to the Benefit Payment for over 65s and I expect to have the outcome of this review in the near future.

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