Vol. 446 No. 2
11 Mr. Connor asked the Minister for Social Welfare the current position of persons who make applications for social welfare contributory pensions but find that their average yearly contributions are inadequate to qualify them for such pension; and the proposals, if any, he has to qualify such persons for reduced rates of pension. [1715/94]
36 Mr. J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Welfare if his attention has been drawn to the fact that a number of contributors who have paid PRSI contributions since 1953 but who have less than an average of 20 such contributions per annum are not now entitled to any contributory old age pension; his views on whether this is in accordance with equality legislation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1782/94]
49 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Welfare the progress that has been made in the matter of the payment of contributory old age pension for persons who have less than an average of 20 contributions since 1953; if he will award portions of pensions in such cases in accordance with contributions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1802/94]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 11, 36 and 49 together.
To qualify for an old age contributory pension a person must have entered insurance at least ten years before reaching pension age, have at least 156 contributions paid and have a yearly average of at least 20 contributions, or 24 in the case of a retirement pension, registered since January 1953 when the unified system of social insurance came into effect, or the time they started insurable employment, if later. Social insurance paid before 1953 under the National Health Insurance Acts can be taken into account in satisfying the first two conditions but cannot be used in calculating the yearly average.
The yearly average condition gives rise to particular problems for people with gaps in their insurance records. In recent years I have introduced a number of measures to alleviate some of the anomalies caused by gaps in insurance: in 1988 I provided special partial old age pensions for people who became compulsorily insured in 1974 but failed to qualify for pension because of gaps in their records caused by the remuneration limit; in 1991 I provided pro-rata pensions for people with “mixed insurance” records. In 1992 an alternative yearly average test, going back to 1979 when the present PRSI system came into effect, was introduced for entitlement to maximum rate of old age, contributory, and retirement pensions; this year, I introduced the homemakers scheme whereby years spent caring full-time for young dependent children under six years of age or caring full time for an elderly or handicapped persons will be disregarded in calculating entitlement to old age, contributory, pension. This new measure which is of special benefit to women came into effect from April 1994.
