asked the Minister for Social Welfare why British insurance contributions are excepted contributions and cannot be taken into account when calculating the yearly average of insurance contributions for the purposes of contributory old age pension.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Contributory Old Age Pensions: British Insurance Contributions.
10.
Contributions for old age (contributory) pensions under the Social Welfare (Amendment) Act, 1960, first became payable on 2nd January, 1961. The Act, however, provides for the making of regulations prescribing the extent to which, inter alia, contributions paid, excused or deemed to be or treated as paid under the former National Health Insurance Acts should be taken into account for the purpose of satisfying the contribution conditions for old age (contributory) pension. The general principle followed in the regulations is to take account only of contributions under former Acts by or in respect of insured persons for periods during which contributions for pensions would also have been paid if the old age contributory pension scheme had then been in force. Accordingly, the regulations exclude from being counted for pension purposes any contributions deemed to be or treated as paid under the former National Health Insurance Acts in pursuance of reciprocal arrangements. These contributions were contributions paid in respect of insurable employment in Great Britain or Northern Ireland, and only that portion of the contributions in question which had effect for the limited purposes of sickness benefit was transferred to the insured person's account here. There is, therefore, no justification for counting such contributions for the purpose of entitlement to old age (contributory) pension.
There is power under the Social Welfare Acts to make reciprocal arrangements with other countries on matters relating to insurance. I propose to explore the possibility of making such arrangements in due course in regard to old age (contributory) pensions.