Written Answers Nos 1-24
10. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection in what timeframe does she guarantee a quality offer of a job, further education and training or apprenticeship opportunity for young persons with a disability who present themselves to their local Intreo office. [1213/16]
View answerThis Government recognises the importance of increasing participation in employment on a voluntary basis for persons with a disability, including young persons. It is committed to removing any barriers that remain which prevent persons with disabilities from participating in activation programmes and employment. To this end, the Department provides a wide range of work related supports for people with disabilities. The principal support is the EmployAbility service, which provides job coach support to people with disabilities in accessing jobs in the open labour market, and the service currently supports over 3,000 people. Funding is also provided to AHEAD (Association for Higher Education Access and Disability) for the Willing Able Mentoring (WAM) programme, an employment placement programme for graduates with disabilities. Other supports include the provision of employment subsidies, workplace adaptation grants and specialist training courses that are specially designed for people with disabilities. These supports, which cost an estimated €37 million in 2015, play an important role in supporting increased participation in the labour force by people with disabilities. In addition people with disabilities have access to nearly all of the standard supports available to other jobseekers.
The Government’s commitments to facilitating increased participation in employment for people with disabilities are reflected in the Comprehensive Employment Strategy. A key part of this strategy will be the setting up an interdepartmental group, under an independent chair, to review and make recommendations on making work pay for people with disabilities through the examination of the complex interactions between the benefit system, the additional costs associated with work for people with disabilities and net income earnings from employment.
A young person with a disability is free to avail of the Intreo service, where a range of supports are available. Currently young people with disabilities presenting themselves at an Intreo Centre seeking employment supports are referred, without delay, to a Case Officer, or to the Local Employment Service (LES).
The Youth Guarantee is focused in accordance with the EU recommendation on the young unemployed in receipt of jobseekers payments, and involves the conditionality related to such payments in respect of job search activity, availability for work, and willingness to take up appropriate offers of employment, training or temporary employment programmes.
Although young people with disabilities have access to the Intreo services they are not, however, subject to the same conditionality in terms of a requirement to engage with those services. The employment supports in place for them are of a voluntary nature and are tailored to individual circumstances and a person’s capacity to engage with education, training or job-search programmes. No minimum timeframe in which an offer of a job, further education, training, or apprenticeship applies.
11. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will revamp the Department of Social Protection application process to reduce the excessive waiting times of six months for an oral hearing and four months for a summary hearing; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1216/16]
View answerThe Chief Appeals Officer assures me that, although significant progress has been made in reducing appeal processing times in recent years, continued improvement in this area remains a priority.
The unprecedented increase in appeal receipts since 2009 placed considerable pressure on the appeals office and impacted adversely on processing times. The number of appeals received increased from an average of 15,000 per year up to 2009, to a peak of 35,500 in 2012, reducing annually thereafter to just below 25,000 in 2015.
Significant effort and resources have been devoted to reforming the appeals process resulting in a substantial improvement in processing times in recent years. The average time for an appeal requiring an oral hearing reduced from 52.5 weeks in 2011 to 25.5 weeks in 2015 and for a summary decision from 25.1 weeks to 18.1 weeks. In addition, the number of appeals on hands at the end of 2015 has decreased by 57.4% from a year-end peak of 20,414 in 2012 to 8,697 appeals on hands at 31 December 2015.
There is no simple solution. The quasi-judicial nature of the appeals system means that there are inevitable time-lags involved. The system is flexible and fair and allows for review and submission of further information up to and including the oral hearing. The time taken is proportionate to the complexity of many of the issues under appeal, which require a high level of judgement and often involve complex legal questions.
A number of elements within the process are time-consuming including the need to ensure due process, natural justice and compliance with the statutory obligation to obtain the Department’s appeal submission. If an oral hearing is requested by the appellant or is required to resolve conflicts, the processing time is prolonged.
12. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she has carried out an analysis on the impact of her changes to the farm assist scheme including the effect income disregards have had on farmers; if she will reconsider the changes she has made; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1209/16]
View answerThe farm assist scheme provides support for farmers on low incomes and is similar to jobseeker’s allowance. Farm assist recipients retain the advantages of the jobseeker’s allowance scheme such as the retention of secondary benefits and access to activation programmes. The 2015 Revised Estimates for the Department provide for expenditure of almost €89 million on the farm assist scheme.
Changes introduced in Budgets 2012 and 2013 brought farm assist into closer alignment with the jobseeker’s allowance scheme’s treatment of self-employed persons. Farm families with the lowest income were least impacted by these changes as the headline rates of farm assist were maintained.
In December last all long term welfare recipients, including recipients of farm assist, benefitted from a 75% Christmas Bonus payment. All recipients of farm assist with children are benefiting from the €5 increase in child benefit rates payable from this month. In addition, farm assist recipients eligible for the fuel allowance will gain from the increase of €2.50 per week, from €20 to €22.50 per week over the fuel season. This increased fuel allowance is in payment from last week.
All measures introduced, including proposals relating to the farm assist scheme, are assessed and analysed in terms of the impact they have. Farm assist is kept under ongoing review from a policy and an administrative point of view by my officials. Farmers affected by the recent flooding and who will suffer a severe deterioration in their annual income can apply for farm assist, subject to satisfying the usual rules of the scheme.
There are no plans to change the current scheme criteria.
13. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection to reverse the cuts made to pensioners since 2009; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1218/16]
View answerThe key achievement of this Government has been to stabilise the nation’s finances, to increase employment and to achieve economic growth. This endeavour is well underway and we are already reaping the benefits of these policies, including the ability to invest in the improvements I have announced over the last two years in welfare supports.
One of the key Government’s commitments made in 2011 was to maintain the value of the core weekly welfare rates, including rates for pensioners, while at the same time providing additional welfare funding to cater for the ongoing rise in the number of pensioners. We have delivered on this commitment.
In addition, I reintroduced a Christmas Bonus payable at 25% of the weekly rate in 2015. The Bonus had been abolished by the previous Government in 2009. In Budget 2016, I was pleased to be in a position to provide a 75% Christmas Bonus payment for all welfare recipients. This means that a contributory pensioner couple (both aged 66 and over) received a bonus of €327.45 last December.
Weekly personal rates of payment for all those aged 66 and over increased by €3 per week from January with proportionate increases on qualified adult rates. These increases build on the increase in the living alone allowance I announced in Budget 2015. In addition, all of those eligible for the Fuel Allowance, including pensioners, gain from the increase in January of €2.50 per week, from €20 to €22.50 per week over the fuel season.
Funding for the Free Travel scheme, which benefits a large number of persons with disabilities, carers and pensioners, is being increased by €3m, from €77m to €80m, to meet increased numbers eligible for the scheme and therefore fully protect entitlements under the scheme.
The Respite Care Grant, now renamed the Carer’s Support Grant to better reflect the usage of the grant, is being increased by €325, from €1,375 to €1,700 per annum. Furthermore, payment of Carer’s Allowance will be extended by 6 weeks, from 6 weeks to 12 weeks, after the death of the care recipient. These payments directly benefit full time carers including many who care for pensioners.
Last year – much quicker than most economists had expected in 2011 – we were able to introduce a Budget that began the process of raising living standards and reinvesting in our communities, families and older people. We have kick-started the social recovery. We are continuing that process this year.
14. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the supports and resources available to those affected by flooding; the efforts she is making to assist them; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1191/16]
View answerThe Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government is the lead Department for severe weather emergencies and the Office of Public Works has responsibility for capital flood relief activities. However, the Department of Social Protection has an important role to play in assisting households in the immediate aftermath of emergency events such as flooding.
The Department has activated its humanitarian assistance scheme, which is means tested, administered by the local Community Welfare Service (CWS) to assist affected householders. I can assure the Deputy that the necessary CWS staff are in place who are engaging with local authorities and emergency personnel to ensure supports are provided to those affected as swiftly as possible. Department staff are proactive in assessing and meeting the demand for assistance through the establishment of emergency clinics and home visits.
Emergency payments have already been made to 270 households with expenditure of over €235,000, with further claims being processed presently. These are mainly payments covering essential clothing, food, toiletries, meals for families relocated to emergency accommodation and fuel costs. It is expected that the number of claims will increase in coming weeks, including the replacement of furniture and white goods and longer term financial supports.
The Government has not set a limit on the amount that can be paid to an individual household under this scheme. Levels of payment depend on the severity of damage experienced and the household’s ability to meet these costs.
Householders requiring assistance under the scheme should contact their local Department office for assistance. Contact phone numbers for affected areas are available on the Department’s website, www.welfare.ie.
15. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will review the impact that cuts to the one-parent family payment have had on recipients and their families. [1205/16]
View answerThe Department monitors all of the social welfare schemes that it administers, including the one-parent family payment scheme, on an on-going basis.
The Department has published a social impact assessment of the main social welfare and tax measures of Budget 2016. The assessment found that employed lone parents experienced an increase of 2% in their household income while unemployed lone parents experienced an increase of 1.8%. The cumulative impact of Budgets 2015 and 2016 also shows that budgetary policy would increase average household incomes for working lone parents by 2.8%. Non-earning lone parents also experience above average gains of 2.4% per cent.
Research shows that being at work reduces the at-risk-of-poverty rate for lone parents by three-quarters - compared to those who do not work, highlighting that the best way to tackle poverty among lone parents is to assist them into employment.
The one-parent family payment scheme reforms were introduced to address long-term social welfare dependency and poverty levels among lone parents and, also, to provide them with enhanced access to the Department’s range of education, training, and employment supports to facilitate their progression into sustainable employment.
The positive outcome of the reforms can be seen from the increase in the number of lone parents becoming new family income supplement recipients. Of the lone parents affected by the reforms in July 2015, more than 3,000 became new family income supplement recipients by the end of 2015. This indicates that these customers entered or increased their employment.
16. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection her views on the recent data in the Survey on Income and Living Conditions which shows that 29% of the population is experiencing deprivation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1192/16]
View answerThe CSO published the 2014 release of the Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) in November 2015. The key measure of poverty from a policy perspective is consistent poverty - the combination of at-risk-of-poverty and basic deprivation - as this is the basis for the national social target for poverty reduction. The rate of consistent poverty in 2014 was 8%, a slight though not statistically significant decrease on 2013.
This survey found that the 29% of the population were affected by basic deprivation. This is a reduction of 1.5 percentage points on the 2013 rate, which in turn is the first reduction since 2007. A significant finding is that the vast majority of those experiencing basic deprivation are not at-risk-of-poverty, but are in low to middle income households.
As noted, the basic deprivation data relate to 2014, and therefore do not reflect the full impact of the recovery underway in economic growth and employment. The unemployment rate, which was 10.4 in 2014, down from the crisis peak of 15.1% in 2011, has since fallen to less than 9% by the end of 2015. As unemployment is strongly linked to poverty, we can expect to see further decreases in basic deprivation and other poverty indicators.
To reinforce the impact of the recovery on households, Budgets 2015 and 2016 have focused on measures to improve the lives and living standards of every family in the country. For example, in Budget 2016 the Government committed over €200 million to support families with children through higher income supports and increased provision of early childhood care and education and other forms of childcare.
The social impact assessment of these budgets show that average household incomes increased by a cumulative 2.3%. Furthermore, households with children are the biggest beneficiaries of Budget 2016, in particular working lone parents.
The Government is committed to ensuring that the recovery continues and is felt by low and middle income working families.
17. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the policy measures she is taking to address the drastic level of child poverty and the large percentage of children experiencing social deprivation; if it is a fact that child poverty has significantly worsened under this Government; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42948/15]
View answerThe CSO Survey on Income and living Conditions for 2014 shows that 11.2 per cent of children were in consistent poverty, a slight but not statistically significant decrease on the 2013 rate of 11.7 per cent. In the period since the economic crisis (2009-2014), the average rate of child poverty was 9.9 per cent. This compares with an average rate of 8.7 per cent in the years preceding the crisis (2005-2008), an increase of 1.2 per cent.
A key driver in preventing poverty among children is social transfers, such as welfare payments and child benefit. In 2014, social transfers reduced the at-risk-of-poverty rate for children from 44.6 per cent to 18.6 per cent, thereby lifting a quarter of all children out of income poverty.
Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures: the national policy framework for children and young people 2014-2020, published by my colleague the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs in 2014 and approved by Government includes a specific target to reduce child poverty by two-thirds by 2020. Meeting this target means lifting upwards of 100,000 children out of poverty. Under Better Outcomes, Better Futures, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs in collaboration with Departments such as my own and other relevant government departments is taking a whole-of-government approach to tackling child poverty.
In Budget 2016, the Government committed over €200 million to support families with children by increasing child benefit and FIS rates and by investing in the provision of childcare. The social impact assessment of the Budget, published by the Department of Social Protection, shows that families will gain up to 2 per cent in average household income. Finally, a key way to tackle child poverty is to help unemployed families to take-up work and to improve the rewards from work. Government employment policies, such as Pathways to Work and the Action Plan on Jobs , along with income supports such as the family income supplement and the back to work family dividend, are clearly working in this regard.
18. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will restore equality for young jobseekers by increasing payments. [1214/16]
View answerReduced rates for young jobseeker’s allowance (JA) recipients were first introduced in 2009. These measures were further extended in 2014. Reduced JA rates for jobseeker’s who are under 26 years of age is a targeted measure aimed at protecting young people from welfare dependency. It aims to incentivise young jobseeker’s allowance recipients to avail of education and training opportunities. If a jobseeker in receipt of the reduced jobseeker’s allowance rate participates on an education or training programme they will receive a higher weekly payment of €160.
To guard against the development of welfare dependency I believe that it is necessary to provide young jobseekers with a strong financial incentive to engage in education or training or to take up employment. If they do not improve their skills, it will be much more difficult for them to avail of job opportunities as the economy recovers and they are at risk of becoming long term unemployed from a young age. Reduced rates of JA are a targeted measure aimed at protecting young people from welfare dependency.
The Government’s primary strategy to tackle youth unemployment is through policies to create the environment for a strong economic recovery by promoting competitiveness and productivity. Economic recovery will underpin jobs growth and the availability of employment for young people.
Reflecting the overall improvement in the labour market, youth unemployment continues to fall. The youth unemployment rate rose relatively rapidly in the recession, up to an average of over 30% in 2012. It has fallen in line with the overall recovery, to an average 19.2% by December 2015. However, these unemployment levels are still unacceptably high and the Government recognises that there is a need for additional measures to ensure that as many as possible of the jobs created are taken up by jobseekers and young jobseekers in particular. This is the rationale behind the Government’s Youth Guarantee Implementation Plan and the Pathways to Work Strategy. In fact Pathways to Work 2016-2020 will be published shortly and will continue to prioritise measures to address youth unemployment with monthly engagement by case officers with all young unemployed jobseekers.
Any proposal to increase the rates of JA for people under 26 would be a matter for Government to consider in a budgetary context.
19. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection to report on how many rent supplement uplifts were awarded in December 2015 to help families avoid homelessness; if discretionary powers under article 38 of SI No. 412 of 2007 will remain in place during 2016; if a cap will be placed on these discretionary powers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1064/16]
View answerRent supplement plays a vital role in housing families and individuals, with the scheme supporting approximately 61,000 people for which the Government has provided approximately €267 million for 2016.
In view of the reduction of supply in the private rented market and increasing rents at this time, the Department has implemented a policy approach that allows for flexibility in assessing customers’ individual accommodation needs on a case by case basis. Departmental staff administering rent supplement have a statutory discretionary power, provided for under Article 38 of Statutory Instrument 412 of 2007, to award or increase a supplement for rental purposes, for example, when dealing with applicants who are at risk of losing their tenancy or in danger of homelessness. There are no plans to amend or restrict this statutory power.
In addition, the Department, in conjunction with Threshold, operates a special protocol in the Dublin and Cork areas where supply issues are particularly acute, with plans underway to extend this to Galway City.
The Department’s flexible approach has assisted approximately 5,800 households nationwide to retain their rented accommodation through increased rent payments, of which some 610 cases were approved in December 2015. A county breakdown of the increased payments is provided in the following tabular statement.
I believe that these measures and the recent reforms to the private rental sector will provide increased stability in what has become a highly volatile rental market. I am continuing to keep this matter under close review.
Rent Supplement : Total Increased Rental Payments by County at 31/12/2015
|
County |
Awards under National Tenancy Sustainment Framework |
Awards under Protocol with Threshold-ITSP |
Total no. of increased payments by County |
|
CARLOW |
24 |
24 |
|
|
CAVAN |
13 |
13 |
|
|
CLARE |
60 |
60 |
|
|
CORK |
235 |
70 |
305 |
|
DONEGAL |
0 |
- |
|
|
DUBLIN |
2,237 |
1,623 |
3,860 |
|
GALWAY |
112 |
112 |
|
|
KERRY |
25 |
25 |
|
|
KILDARE |
228 |
228 |
|
|
KILKENNY |
112 |
112 |
|
|
LAOIS |
101 |
101 |
|
|
LEITRIM |
48 |
48 |
|
|
LIMERICK |
7 |
7 |
|
|
LONGFORD |
95 |
95 |
|
|
LOUTH |
77 |
77 |
|
|
MAYO |
3 |
3 |
|
|
MEATH |
256 |
256 |
|
|
MONAGHAN |
1 |
1 |
|
|
OFFALY |
51 |
51 |
|
|
ROSCOMMON |
13 |
13 |
|
|
SLIGO |
0 |
- |
|
|
TIPPERARY |
165 |
165 |
|
|
WATERFORD |
27 |
27 |
|
|
WESTMEATH |
94 |
94 |
|
|
WEXFORD |
7 |
7 |
|
|
WICKLOW |
97 |
97 |
|
|
Overall Total |
4,088 |
1,693 |
5,781 |
20. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she has had any discussions with the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation regarding the prevalence of low wage, zero-hour and casual contracts and their impact on the social protection budget; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1163/16]
View answerIn November my colleague the Minister for Business and Employment, Ged Nash TD, published a report, "A Study on the Prevalence of Zero Hours Contracts among Irish Employers and their Impact on Employees" by the University of Limerick.
The independent study commissioned by Minister Nash and carried out by Dr Michelle O’Sullivan follows a commitment to undertake such an examination in the Government’s Statement of Priorities in July 2014.
Officials from my Department met with Dr O’Sullivan and her team and contributed to her research. As part of this process the Department outlined its experience of providing in-work support to its clients via the broad range of working age supports including the family income supplement, the back to work family dividend and jobseeker payments.
The Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation are in the process of undertaking a short consultation process with employers, trade unions and other stakeholders including my Department on the findings and recommendations of this report. As part of this process I have written to Minister Nash and have expressed my views in relation to the report’s recommendations.
I welcomed the publication of the report and I believed that the study provides timely and valuable contribution in setting out the future policy direction in this area. I understand that Minister Nash will be considering the submissions his Department has received and his recommendations will be brought to Cabinet in the coming weeks on how we should tackle this type of precarious work, while at the same time recognising the need for some levels of flexibility for employers and employees.
21. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will reinstate the bereavement grant; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1217/16]
View answerThe overall concern in recent Budgets has been to protect primary social welfare rates. Abolishing the bereavement grant provided an annual saving of €22 million. This allowed the Department to protect other more fundamental social welfare payments such as the State pension. Accordingly, I have no plans to reinstate the bereavement grant.
There are a range of supports available for people following bereavement which provide more significant support than the grant. These include a weekly-paid widow's, widower's or surviving civil partner’s (contributory and non-contributory) pension based on contributions or a means test, and a once-off widowed or surviving civil partner grant of €6,000 where there is a dependent child.
A number of social welfare payments, including State pension continue in payment for six weeks following a death while in budget 2016 I increased the payment after death period to 12 weeks for carer’s allowance. Guardian payments are available where someone is looking after an orphaned child. A special funeral grant of €850 is paid where a person dies because of an accident at work or occupational disease.
Under the supplementary welfare allowance (SWA) scheme, the Department of Social Protection may make a single exceptional needs payment (ENP) to help meet essential, once-off and unforeseen expenditure including help with funeral and burial expenses which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income. However, there is no automatic entitlement to such a payment. An ENP is a means tested payment payable at the discretion of the officers administering the scheme, taking into account the requirements of the legislation and all the relevant circumstances.
22. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the status of the reconfiguration of the Money Advice and Budgeting Service; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1062/16]
View answerThe Citizens Information Board (CIB) is the statutory body responsible for providing information, advice (including money and budgeting advice service) and advocacy services on a wide range of public and social services. CIB delivers on this remit through a network of delivery partners which includes 51 local Money Advice and Budgeting Services (MABS) and 42 local Citizens Information Services (CIS). In 2016, the CIB has been allocated a budget of €50m of which some €17.6 million is allocated to the MABS network of companies.
CIB commissioned a study to determine the feasibility of greater organisational integration of MABS and CIS companies to facilitate improved governance arrangements. The study, undertaken by Pathfinder, identified a number of options and the Board of CIB subsequently tasked a Design Group with outlining and recommending possible new structural models, using the feasibility study as the key resource to inform the process. The proposed option identified by the Design Group is now to be considered by the Board of CIB over the coming months. I expect the Board will make a formal proposal to my Department on the matter in due course.
23. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will taper the restriction of working hours of 15 hours a week in the case of carer’s allowance in order that a person in receipt of such a payment can, on occasion, work more than the 15 hours and not lose the full entitlement; or if the hours can be calculated on a monthly rather than a weekly basis. [1212/16]
View answerIt is a condition for receipt of carer’s benefit and carer’s allowance that the carer must be providing full-time care and attention to a person who requires such full-time care and attention because of a specified illness or disability. This condition is moderated by legislation allowing the carer to work or engage in training outside the home for an aggregate total of 15 hours per week. During this period of employment or education or training, adequate provision must be made for the care of the relevant person.
I am satisfied that the 15 hour moderation of the full-time care requirement achieves a reasonable balance between meeting the requirement for providing full-time care for the care recipient and the needs of the carer to engage in employment or education – while also helping to address the issue of social alienation experienced by many carers. There are no current plans to change the 15 hour moderation.
24. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection further to her reply to Parliamentary Question No. 57 of 16 December 2015, if she will introduce measures to ensure equality in the calculation of contributory pension entitlements, for example, by speeding up the introduction of the promised yearly average system with a total contributions approach and by allowing such a system to apply retroactively; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1135/16]
View answerThe Irish pensions system is comprised of a number of schemes, based on criteria such as contributions paid, income need, and other factors. These ensure that people have an adequate income in old age. This range of supports has resulted in very similar outcomes for male and female pensioners in Ireland. Consistent poverty rates for women and men over 65 have effectively been at parity over a number of years, despite many women having lifetime lower earnings than men.
The State pension contributory is one of the State pension schemes, and its rate of payment is related to contributions made over the years into the Social Insurance Fund. As such, those with a stronger attachment to the workforce, who have paid more into that fund, are more likely to be paid under that scheme.
Entitlement to the contributory pension is determined by means of a ‘yearly average’ calculation, where the total contributions paid or credited are divided by the number of years of the working life. Payment rates are banded. For example, someone with a yearly average of 48 contributions will qualify for a full pension, whereas someone with a yearly average of 20 will qualify for a pension at the 85% rate.
Since 1961, when contributory pensions were first introduced, the average contributions test has been used in calculating pension entitlement. Work has commenced on changing this to a total contributions approach where the number of contributions recorded over a work life will more closely reflect the rate of pension payment received. It is expected that the total contributions approach to pension qualification will replace the current average contributions test for State pension (contributory) for new pensioners from 2020, although that date is subject to change, as this is a very significant reform with considerable legal, administrative, and technical challenges to be overcome in its implementation.
When proposals are agreed, legislation will be brought forward to underpin the necessary changes. I believe that it is important that the changes be announced well in advance of introduction, to enable those workers affected to include the new factors into their retirement planning. This new method will provide greater benefit for some, but not all, future pensioners than they would have had under the current system. It is not anticipated that the changes will apply to existing pensioners. Any reforms are required to contribute to the ongoing sustainability of the pensions system and not increase costs.
