John McGuinness
Question:131. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of an application for the contributory State pension; and if arrears are due. [23038/20]
View answerThursday, 10 September 2020
Questions (131)
Written answers
The person concerned applied for State pension (contributory) on 22 July 2019, in advance of reaching pension age in September 2019. According to the records of my Department, they have a total of 260 paid full-rate Irish social insurance contributions. They had not provided details of employment in any other country. Since their contributions fell short of the requisite 520 paid full-rate contributions, they did not qualify for standard State pension (contributory) based on their Irish social insurance record. They were notified in writing of this decision on 19 August 2019.
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 re-applied for State pension (contributory) on 20 September 2019 and provided details of employment in Poland.
The person advised that they had also applied for State pension (non-contributory) and wished to be paid whichever pension would be more financially beneficial to them. On 5 November 2019, the person concerned notified my Department that they no longer wished to proceed with their application for State pension (non-contributory). The Deciding Officer issued a letter to them on 7 November 2019 confirming that their application had been withdrawn. On 15 January 2020, the person concerned re-applied for State pension non-contributory, which was awarded with effect from 17 January 2020, in accordance with legislation. They were notified of this decision on 9 March 2020 and afforded right of appeal.
The person’s Irish and Polish social insurance contributions were combined to establish their entitlement to an EU pro rata State pension (contributory). They have 1,122 contributions and credits, composed of 260 Irish paid full-rate contributions, 9 Irish credited contributions, and 853 EU contributions.
The person concerned qualified for an EU pro rata State pension (contributory) at the current weekly rate of €50.70. However, since they were in receipt of a higher rate of State pension (non-contributory), their State pension (contributory) claim was withdrawn as both cannot be paid concurrently. They were notified in writing of this decision on 17 August 2020.
There are no arrears of State pension (contributory) due as Supplementary Welfare Allowance was in payment prior to award of State pension (non-contributory).
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.