Vol. 455 No. 8
311 Mr. Creed asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will change the regulations governing the survivor's contributory pension scheme in order that contributions made after the death of the spouse and prior to the introduction of the scheme can be taken into account when determining eligibility for benefit. [12696/95]
It is a general feature of insurance systems that the appropriate contributions must have been paid before the contingency arises.
In the case of the survivor's contributory pension, it is necessary to satisfy the contribution conditions at the relevant time, that is on the date the person's spouse died or reached pension age. To qualify a survivor may use either his/her own or their late spouse's social insurance record.
The qualification criteria in this regard are considered to be reasonable and I have no plans to amend them.
