Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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704. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will clarify the contribution history of a person (details supplied); and if these contributions can be amended to entitle this person to a State pension (contributory). [55178/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The person concerned reached pension age on 13 August 2022. My Department have not received an application for State Pension (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 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 of the missing periods of employment to my Department.

The person concerned applied 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) in June 2022. However, as they failed to provide requested information, their application was disallowed. It is open to them to re-apply for this pension. I have arranged for a State Pension non-contributory application form to issue to them.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.