Naoise Ó Muirí (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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299. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the status of an application for a pro-rata contributory State pension submitted by a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8662/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The person concerned reached pension age on 22 October 2024. An application for the contributory State Pension was received on 26 June 2024.

Under current eligibility conditions, an individual must have 520 full-rate paid contributions in order to qualify for standard contributory State Pension. 520 full-rate contributions equate to 10 years of full-rate insurable employment. According to the records of my Department, the person has a total of 331 full-rate contributions which falls short of the 520 full-rate contributions.

To qualify for a mixed insurance pension based on their full-rate and modified rate contributions, 520 employment contributions are required, of which at least 260 must be full-rate employment contributions with the remainder made up of modified rate contributions.

A request for a copy of the persons modified rate record was issued to their employer on 14 October 2024 with a reminder issuing on 19 February 2025. Once this information is received, my department will make a decision on their entitlement.

Where a person aged 66 or over does not satisfy the conditions to qualify for a contributory State pension or qualifies for less than the maximum rate, they may instead qualify for one of the following:

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