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State Pension (Contributory)

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 30 June 2020

Tuesday, 30 June 2020

Questions (841)

Bríd Smith

Question:

841. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the way in which a person (details supplied) that has total combined contributions here and in Germany that would yield a maximum State pension contributory here can lose out to the extent detailed; and her plans to alter the method of calculating such contributions to ensure such persons do not lose out in the future. [13193/20]

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Written answers

The person concerned applied for State pension (contributory) on 2 October 2018, in advance of reaching pension age in June 2019.  According to the records of my Department, they have a total of 389 paid full-rate Irish social insurance contributions.  Since their contributions fall short of the requisite 520 paid full-rate contributions, they do not qualify for standard State pension (contributory) based solely on their Irish social insurance record.

Under European Union regulations, the insurance records of other Member States can be combined to satisfy the 520-contribution condition and give entitlement to a proportional or pro rata pension.  The person’s Irish and EU (German and UK) contributions were combined to establish their entitlement to an EU pro rata State pension (contributory).  They have 2,209 contributions and credits, composed of 389 Irish paid full-rate contributions, 36 Irish credited contributions, and 1,784 EU contributions.

The rate of entitlement is based on the proportion of Irish full-rate social insurance contributions to the person’s total combined Irish and EU social insurance contributions.  The greater the number of Irish contributions paid by a person, the higher their weekly rate of EU pro rata State pension entitlement.  Conversely, a greater amount of full-rate EU contributions would yield a lower rate of pro rata pension. 

The person’s pension entitlement has been calculated correctly under the provisions of both Irish and European Union legislation.  How their entitlements to pensions in Germany and the UK are calculated is a matter for the pension authorities in those countries.   

The person concerned qualified for an EU pro rata State pension (contributory) at the current weekly rate of €47.80 and was notified in writing of this decision on 29 April 2019.  They were provided with a copy of their social insurance record on which the decision was based.  The person appealed this decision to the independent Social Welfare Appeals Office.  They will be notified in writing of the outcome of the Appeals Officer's review.  

Social security provisions have existed in EU law for more than 30 years, and are contained in Regulations (EC) No 883/2004 and 987/2009.  As such, Ireland and other EU Member States are bound to abide by these regulations as they are applied to pension payments.  Social insurance contributions made in other EU countries may be used to determine eligibility for contributory pensions, but cannot be used to increase the rate of payment.  Any changes to this system would have a significant impact on the Social Insurance Fund and consequently the Exchequer.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

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