asked the Minister for Social Welfare what are the conditions necessary and the procedure to be adopted so that an applicant can be awarded an old age pension of £2 per week or less plus a dependant's allowance; what constitutes a dependant for the purposes of the Act; whether any means test exists; whether an applicant can continue in whole-time or part-time employment while drawing the pension; and whether and appeal may be made by an aggrieved person.
Written Answers. - Old Age Pensions.
114.
The scheme of old age (contributory) pensions introduced by the Social Welfare (Amendment) Act, 1960, will come into operation on 6th January, 1961. To qualify for a pension of £2 per week a person must have attained the age of 70 years and must satisfy the following three conditions on his insurance under the Social Welfare Acts:—
(a) that he entered insurance before attaining the age of sixty years,
(b) that not less than 156 employment contributions have been paid in respect of him, and
(c) that the average per contribution year of contributions paid in respect of or credited to him is not less than 48 for the period from the beginning of the contribution year in which he entered insurance to the end of the last complete contribution year before he reached the age of 70.
Employment contributions paid in respect of a period during which a person was insured only for the purposes of widow's (contributory) pension and orphan's (contributory) allowance will not count towards satisfying these conditions.
Power is provided for the making of regulations prescribing the manner in which contributions already paid or credited under the Social Welfare Acts or under the National Health Insurance Acts, 1911 to 1952, will be taken into account for the purpose of satisfying the contribution conditions. These regulations may also modify any of those contribution conditions in the case of persons who were insurred under the National Health Insurance Acts, 1911 to 1952.
In addition, regulations may be made to enable an old age (contributory) pension to be paid at a rate less than £2 per week where the contribution condition which requires a yearly average of 48 contributions paid or credited is not fully satisfied.
An increase of old age (contributory) pension amounting to 28/6d. a week will be payable in respect of an adult dependant who is not in receipt of a pension in his own right. An adult dependant for the purposes of the scheme is, in the case of a married man, his wife if she is living with or is wholly or mainly maintained by him, and, in the case of a married woman, her husband if he is incapable of self-support by reason of some physical or mental infirmity and is wholly or mainly maintained by her.
Old age (contributory) pension is not subject to any means test and entitlement will not be affected by a pensioner continuing employment after the pension has been awarded to him.
Claim forms for pension are available at all Post Offices. The procedure for claiming a pension is to complete a claim form in accordance with the instructions printed on it and to forward it when completed and certified to the Department of Social Welfare with any other documents required. The claim will be decided by a Deciding Officer.
Old age (contributory) pension is a benefit under the Social Welfare Act, 1952, and is therefore governed by the provisions of Section 44 of that Act which relates to the right of appeal. Accordingly if, any person is dissatisfied with the decision given by a deciding officer in relation to his claim for pension the question will, on notice of appeal being given to the Minister within the prescribed time, be referred to an appeals officer. The prescribed time is normally any time up to the expiration of 21 days from the date of notification of the decision.