Written answers
Tuesday, 15 July 2025
Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection
State Pensions
Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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646. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of people aged 80 and over who have had their pension entitlements reviewed in each of the past five years; the estimated cost of carrying out these reviews; the amount that has been recovered by the State in each of these years as part of this review, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39158/25]
Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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My Department has a commitment to an annual level of control reviews and operates an ongoing continuous schedule of control and review activity for those in receipt of a pension.The objective is to ensure that customers on a pension, regardless of age, continue to receive their correct rate of payment over the lifetime of their claim.
Reviews can arise from customer requests for a review of their claim, from targeted and random case selections, or where specific information comes to the attention of the Department. Factors such as length of time since last review, or where information is received from other agencies such as the Revenue Commissioners, or from members of the public, can also trigger control reviews.
The tables below outline the number of control reviews on State Pension Contributory (SPC) and State Pension Non-Contributory (SPNC), the amount of savings recorded, number of overpayments raised, value of the overpayments and recoveries of overpayments for the years 2020 - 2024.
The number of control reviews and savings are recorded and reported on for each scheme using the customers PPSN only, as the unique identifier. Control reviews are not collated by age category.
Table 1 – State Pension Contributory
| Year | Number of Control Reviews | Total Savings (M) | Number of Overpayments raised | Value (M) | *Recoveries | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 14,677 | €16.319 | 5242 | €5.12 | €4.69 | |
| 2021 | 18,074 | €24.569 | 6134 | €5.98 | €5.67 | |
| 2022 | 25,222 | €39.383 | 6499 | €7.07 | €6.27 | |
| 2023 | 29,994 | €43.843 | 7037 | €6.59 | €6.35 | |
| 2024 | 30,325 | €48.286 | 6645 | €7.84 | €6.40 |
Table 2 – State Pension Non-Contributory
| SPNC | Number of Control reviews | Total Savings(M) | Number of Overpaymentsraised | Value(M) | *Recoveries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 4,248 | €32.073 | 3191 | €31.21 | €23.11 |
| 2021 | 8,075 | €31.804 | 2621 | €27.46 | €21.71 |
| 2022 | 12,869 | €37.140 | 2624 | €21.80 | €19.53 |
| 2023 | 13,175 | €47.043 | 3017 | €28.77 | €24.63 |
| 2024 | 12,566 | €50.346 | 2823 | €28.75 | €25.38 |
It is not possible to disaggregate the cost of carrying out reviews from the overall administration costs of the Department given that many of the tasks associated with control and anti-fraud measures are an inherent element of the roles of all social welfare officials.
I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
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