Vol. 491 No. 3
378 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the number of people in receipt of survivor's pension who are under the qualifying age for old age pensions; the cost to the State of this for 1998; if they are entitled to any secondary benefits; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12329/98]
Figures for 1998 are not available; however, in 1997, almost 36,000 people, under 66 years of age, were in receipt of the widow's or widower's contributory pension at an estimated annual cost of £139 million. Just over 4,000 people, in the same age group, were in receipt of the widow's or widower's non-contributory pension at an estimated cost, in 1997, of almost £14 million.
The free schemes — such as free travel, free electricity allowance, free telephone rental allowance and free TV licence — are available to people, living in the State, aged 66 or over, who are in receipt of a welfare-type payment, and who are living alone or with specified exempted people. They are also available to certain people with disabilities under that age who are in receipt of certain welfare type pensions. In addition, widows/widowers between the ages of 60 and 65, whose late spouses had been in receipt of the free schemes, retain that entitlement. Widows and widowers may also be eligible for a fuel allowance subject to satisfying a means test.
In addition, this year's budget has provided that people, who are in receipt of invalidity pension, disability allowance and blind person's pension and who transfer to certain other social welfare pensions, for example, widow's and widower's contributory pensions, will retain their entitlement to the free schemes. This measure extends the arrangement whereby invalidity pensioners, who transfer either to retirement pension at age 65 or to widow's widower's contributory pension at age 60 or over, retain their free schemes.
