Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 October 2023
64. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Social Protection if her Department is undertaking a review of the criteria for qualification for the State pension; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46415/23]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, the Pensions Commission was established in November 2020 to examine sustainability and eligibility issues in respect of the State Pension.
The Government considered the report of the Pensions Commission carefully and in response, I announced a series of landmark reforms to the State Pension system in September 2022.
These reforms include a range of measures affecting eligibility for State Pension (Contributory), including:
1. A decision that the State Pension age will remain at 66 years of age.
2. Flexibility will be introduced to the State Pension (Contributory) allowing a person to defer access between age 66 and 70 and receive an actuarially based increase in their weekly payment rate. This will also allow a person with less than 40 years contributions to use the period between 66 and 70 years of age to build up additional entitlements. If a person has less than the required 10 years PRSI reckonable paid contributions, they may be able to use this period to qualify for a State Pension (Contributory).
3. The introduction of enhanced State Pension provision for people who have been providing full time care to incapacitated dependents for 20 years or more. This may assist long-term carers in these circumstances who currently may not be able to qualify for the State Pension (Contributory) by attributing the equivalent of paid contributions to them for those caring periods.
4. There will also be a 10-year phased full transition to the Total Contributions Approach, together with a phased abolition of the Yearly Average approach.
I expect to bring the legislation required to introduce these measures before the Oireachtas soon, with proposals to be implemented from January 2024.
I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
