asked the Minister for Social Welfare why it is necessary, in order to qualify for an old age contributory pension, for an applicant to have not only a total of more than 156 contributions but also to show a yearly average in excess of 24; and if this requirement has any social or administrative value.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Old Age Contributory Pensions.
38.
It is a fundamental principle of schemes of social insurance that in order to qualify for benefit a claimant shall satisfy prescribed contribution conditions. It would be unreasonable to expect that a long term benefit, such as an old age contributory pension, should be paid to a person with an inconsiderable insurance record, or who had failed to maintain his insurance. It is therefore necessary to prescribe a minimum level of insurance to establish title to a pension. I would remind the Deputy that credited employment contributions, which are granted to insured persons in respect of weeks of sickness or unemployment, are reckonable for the purposes of satisfying the contribution condition referred to and a person on ceasing to be compulsorily insured can preserve title to pension by becoming a voluntary contributor.
Could I ask the Minister why, in view of the criteria laid down in his answer, he would not accept as adequate a total of 156 contributions? Why is it necessary to insist in addition that the man must have a certain yearly average? Surely if he has a total of 156 he has obviously paid in enough to be entitled to get benefit?
I think this is what is meant by "an inconsiderable insurance record" in the answer.
39.
asked the Minister for Social Welfare why an applicant for old age contributory pension is limited to 20 contribution years prior to his reaching the age of 70 for the purpose of establishing a yearly average number of contributions which will qualify him for pension.
Under the provisions of the Social Welfare Acts, the statutory contribution condition for old age contributory pension, which requires the claimant to have a yearly average of at least 24 contributions paid or credited, is normally determined over his full insured life under those Acts. In order to meet the position of persons who could not satisfy the statutory contribution conditions under the Social Welfare Acts and who had been insured under the former National Health Insurance Acts, it was provided by statutory regulations that insurance contributions paid or credited under those Acts, within a period of 20 years before attaining age 70, would be reckonable, even though they did not include any element in respect of old age contributory pension. As a further concession, each reckonable National Health contribution is treated as two contributions for the purposes of the average test. It is the 20 years before the person attains 70 and the 20 years refers to an individual's life and that varies according to the applicant.
It can be ten, 15 or 20 years. The information is not correct.