Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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446. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if the eligibility of a person (details supplied) for the State pension (contributory) will be examined; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36336/24]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The person concerned reached pension age on 10 January 2017. An application for State Pension (contributory) was received on 21 January 2019.

To qualify for state pension (contributory), a total of 520 paid reckonable contributions are required which is equivalent to 10 years contributions.

The person concerned was advised on 25 March 2019 that they did not qualify for State Pension (contributory). There was no record of any paid contributions on their record. The self-employment contributions were paid after the person concerned turned 66 and are therefore not reckonable for inclusion in the pension calculation.

Section 110. (1) of the SW Consolidation Acts states that: In the case of a person who, having been a self-employed contributor, makes a claim for State pension (contributory) on or after 6 April 1995, the contribution conditions contained in section 109 shall not be regarded as having been satisfied unless, in accordance with section 21-

(a) the person has paid self-employment contributions in respect of at least one contribution year before attaining pensionable age or deferred pensionable age, as the case may be, and

(b) all self-employment contributions payable by him or her have been paid.

Section 110 (2) of the SW Consolidation Act was amended to "A State pension (contributory) shall not be payable in respect of any period preceding the date on which all self-employment contributions, referred to in subsection (1)(b), payable by the person concerned have been paid.

It is open to the person concerned to apply for the means-tested State Pension (non-contributory), the maximum rate of which equates to 95% of the maximum rate of State Pension (contributory).

I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.