asked the Minister for Social Welfare (a) why a person (name supplied), who is required to pay a social welfare stamp, has been informed by his Department that he may have no pension entitlement when he retires; (b) the relevant EEC regulations with regard to the reckoning of both British and Irish insurance contributions for retirement pension entitlement in this person's case; and (c) if he will give an estimate of the pension entitlements, if any, of the person concerned on the assumption that he retires at age 65.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Pension Entitlement.
32.
According to the Department's records, the person concerned will reach the age of 65 years in 1982 and his total Irish insurance will not be sufficient to entitle him to a retirement pension on that insurance alone, even assuming that he has full Irish contributions until then.
However, it is understood that he was employed in the United Kingdom from 1943 to 1955 and insured under British legislation and that he continued his British insurance on a voluntary basis after he resumed working in Ireland. His pension entitlement will, therefore, fall to be examined under EEC Regulation No. 1408 of 1971 which provides for the aggregation of insurance periods of migrant workers in the member states.
It is not possible at this stage to give an estimate of the actual amount of pension to which the person concerned will become entitled on reaching age 65. If, however, he had an uninterrupted record of British insurance from 1943 to 1974 he would qualify at that age for a proportionate Irish retirement pension based on the ratio of his Irish insurance to his combined British and Irish insurance and he should also be entitled to an appropriate pension from the United Kingdom authorities on the basis of his British insurance.
Even though it is impossible at this stage to say how much the person concerned will be getting may we take it that at least he will get something?
Certainly. He seems to me to be in a particularly happy position.