My Department is guided by the governing legislation and there is no discretion to direct that Section 110 (1) of the Act shall not be applied. Section 110 (2) was superseded by section 9 of Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Act 2009, which came into operation on 1 January 2010.
Therefore, under current social welfare legislation, a self-employed contributor will not be regarded as satisfying the contribution conditions for State pension (contributory) unless the person has paid self-employment contributions in respect of at least one contribution year prior to reaching age 66 and all self-employment contributions payable have been paid.
While the person concerned has paid self-employment (Class S) contributions for the tax years 2006 to 2014, all self-employment contributions were paid after the person reached age 66. Therefore, under the governing legislation, the eligibility conditions for State pension (contributory) have not been satisfied.
The person concerned was notified of this decision in writing on 19 November 2019. Following a requested review, this decision remained unchanged, and the person was advised accordingly on 11 March 2020. The person then appealed their pension decision to the independent Social Welfare Appeals Office. Their appeal was disallowed on 27 July 2020 as the self-employment contributions are not eligible in the calculation of pension entitlement.
It remains open to the person concerned to apply for State pension (non-contributory). An application form has issued to them. On receipt of a completed application form, their eligibility for this pension can be determined and they will be notified in writing of the decision.
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
