The person concerned applied for old age contributory pension on 16 March 1987. On 10 April 1987 his claim was rejected as he failed to satisfy the statutory condition which required him to have a yearly average of 20 contributions over a prescribed period. The person concerned had a yearly average of 19 over the prescribed period from 1968 to 1986.
He supplied new details of his history of employment to my Department on 29 July 1987. Detailed investigations by my Department were necessitated by the fact that a number of employers were involved, one of which was in liquidation. Further insurance contributions were paid on 16 May 1988 by one of his previous employers.
In June 1988, as a result of the additional contributions paid, a deciding officer awarded the person concerned an old age contributory pensions of £51.70 per week, with effect from 20 May 1988, the Friday following the date on which outstanding social insurance contributions were paid. This is in accordance with legislative provisions which provide that for the purposes of any right to benefit, a contribution shall not be treated as having been paid on any date earlier than the date on which it is paid.
There are provisions in the legislation governing the late payment of contributions which enable contributions to be treated as having been paid on the due date where it is shown that the failure to make, or the delay in making, payment of contributions was not with the consent or connivance of or attributable to any negligence on the part of the insured person.
These provisions were not applied in this case on the basis that the person concerned was deemed to have contributed to the non-payment of contributions in not presenting an insurance card to a number of employers between 1969 and 1978.
The person concerned appealed this decision and the appeal was disallowed in April 1989 following an oral hearing.
I am satisfied that all inquiries in this case were necessary and conducted in a proper manner. It was not possible to know at the outset which employers, if any, would pay arrears for a period which was statute barred so far as my Department is concerned. The person concerned delayed a long time in reporting arrears spanning back 20 years. In the circumstances, the appeals officer could see no justification for back-dating the period of entitlement.
There is legislative provision whereby the person concerned may seek to recover from an employer the amount of lost benefit as a simple contract debt in the courts.