State Pensions

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 February 2017

Tuesday, 21 February 2017

Questions (291)

John Brady

Question:

291. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Social Protection the total number of persons, broken down by gender, who were awarded a contributory State pension in 2015 and 2016; the total number of lifetime social insurance contributions, paid and credited, made by those persons, by gender; the total number of lifetime credited contributions made by those persons, by gender; the quantity of each type of credited contribution for those persons, by gender; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8246/17]

Written answers

Minister for Social Protection

The following table shows the number of persons, by gender, who were awarded a state pension (contributory) in 2015 and 2016.

Year	Male	Female	Total
2015	18,392	12,061	30,453
2016	18,907	12,541	31,448

Entitlement to state pension (contributory) is decided having regard to an individual’s social insurance contribution history. It is not possible to quantify or aggregate the number of paid and/or credited social insurance contributions for the people who were awarded pensions during those years, or to provide a breakdown of the nature of credited contributions, where relevant, relied upon to establish entitlement.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.