Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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138. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will examine the rights and entitlements a person made in respect of pension contributions (details supplied). [40580/24]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The person concerned reached pension age on 8 July 2019. An application for state pension (contributory) (SPC) was received from them in April 2020.

In general, public servants who joined prior to 6 April 1995 paid modified contributions which are not reckonable for the standard state pension (contributory). However, such employees generally have an occupational pension, the level of which is related to a number of factors, including years of service.

To be eligible for the standard state pension (contributory) an individual must have at least 520 full-rate contributions. To qualify for a mixed insurance pension 520 employment contributions are required, of which at least 260 must be full-rate contributions with the remainder made up of modified contributions.

According to the records of my Department, the person concerned has 742 reckonable paid contributions, 877 HomeCaring Periods and 23 reckonable credits from 1967 to 2019. This gave entitlement to €196.10 per week which is equivalent to 78.94% of the maximum rate of state pension contributory.

The person concerned was also considered for a mixed Insurance pension based on their full rate and modified contributions. However as the pension calculation based on the full rate contributions was financially more beneficial to the person concerned they were awarded €196.10 per week.

Officials in my Department are contacting the former civil service employer to request a record of the person's employment. When this information is received, the person's entitlement will be reviewed and they will be notified of the outcome.

My Department introduced a number of reforms to the state pension (contributory) including a provision for people who have been caring for incapacitated dependents for over 20 years (1040 weeks).

If the person concerned has been caring for incapacitated dependents for over 20 years, they can apply for long-term carers contributions (LTCC). If the criteria are met, the equivalent of paid contributions may be attributed to cover gaps in their contribution record. The periods of caregiving do not need to be consecutive.

The quickest way to apply for LTCCs is online at MyWelfare.ie if the person has a verified MyGovID account. Further information is available on the Government website at gov.ie/pensions.

Where a person aged 66 or over qualifies for less than the maximum rate, it is also open to them to apply for one of the following:

• The means-tested state pension (non-contributory) which is a means-tested payment (based on their share of household means) with a maximum payment of 95% of the state pension (contributory); or
• An increase for a qualified adult (based on their own means), amounting up to 90% of the maximum rate of state pension (contributory) where their spouse is in receipt of a contributory pension.