Vol. 361 No. 1
asked the Minister for Social Welfare in view of the Ombudsman's report which stated that the most frequent complaint was the average requirement for contributory old age pension entitlements if he has any proposals to alter the relevant legislation to respond to these genuine hardship cases.
197.
asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he is aware of the anomaly created by the 1953 legislation which effectively deprives pensioners of benefit prior to 1953 and which has created substantial hardship in many cases, and if he will make a statement in the matter.
It is proposed to take Questions Nos. 174 and 197 together. It is presumed that Deputy Bell's question refers to the fact that pre-1953 social insurance contributions are not reckonable for purposes of the average condition for assessing entitlement to old age contributory and retirement pensions. The contribution old age pension was introduced in 1961 and the retirement pension was introduced in 1970. The social insurance contributions paid before the commencement of those schemes did not contain any contribution elements in respect of them so that the present conditions are already substantially concessionary.
The general position in relation to the average condition was dealt with in the replies to Questions Nos. 8, 10 and 11 on 1 May 1985. The Social Welfare Acts provide that one of the qualifying conditions for the receipt of contributory old age or retirement pension requires the claimant to have a yearly average of at least 20 qualifying contributions from 5 January 1953 or from his year of entry into insurance, whichever is the later, to the end of the last complete contribution year before he reached pension age.
The cost of modifying the law to give pensions to persons who failed to satisfy the average condition because of breaks in their insurance records or non-reckonability of pre-1953 contributions would be substantial, it would create further inconsistencies in relation to persons who maintained eligibility for pension by becoming voluntary contributors, and such action would divert funds from more urgent social welfare needs. Anyone who fails to qualify for an old age contributory pension may, if his circumstances warrant it, qualify for a non-contributory old age pension.
All of the qualifying conditions for old age contributory and retirement pensions are being examined by the Commission on Social Welfare and the case for a general restructuring of qualifying conditions, including the average condition, will be reviewed in the light of the Commission's recommendations.
