John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

687. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if a person (details supplied) has sufficient contributions to qualify for a pension in her own right; if her spouse is in receipt of his full entitlement and an adult dependent allowance; and if she will provide a record of the contributions made by the person. [55050/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The person concerned reached pension age on 01 September 2016. There is no record of receipt of an application form for State Pension (contributory) or State Pension non-contributory.

Under current eligibility conditions, an individual must have 520 full-rate paid contributions in order to qualify for standard State pension (contributory). 520 full-rate contributions equate to 10 years of full-rate insurable employment. According to the records of my Department the person concerned has a total of 52 full-rate contributions which falls short of the requisite 520 paid full-rate contributions.

I have requested that a copy of the person’s social insurance contribution record be issued to them. If the person concerned considers they have additional contributions from employment that have not been recorded, it is open to them to forward documentary evidence, for the missing periods of employment, to my Department and their record will be reviewed.

It is also open to them to apply for the means-tested State Pension (Non-Contributory), the maximum rate of which is over 95% of the maximum rate of the State Pension (Contributory). I have arranged for a State Pension non-contributory application form to issue to them.

The spouse of the person concerned is in receipt of maximum rate State Pension (contributory). They received the Increase for Qualified Adult allowance from 11 January 2014 to 11 September 2014. This allowance was stopped as they failed to respond to a review of this payment in July 2014. I have arranged for an Increase for Qualified Adult application form to issue to them, should they wish to reapply for this allowance.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.