Vol. 523 No. 2
138 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the circumstances in which a reduction is made in a farm retirement pension on the grant of a social welfare pension to a person in receipt of the farm retirement pension or in receipt by a spouse. [20874/00]
A pension paid under the scheme of early retirement from farming must be reduced by the amount of any national retirement pension to which the participant is entitled. Where a participant enters the scheme in joint management with a spouse or partner, the same rule applies to the pension paid under the scheme if the spouse or partner becomes entitled to a national pension. It is a condition of the scheme that a participant and his or her spouse or partner must, on reaching their 66th birthday, apply to the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs for both the contributory and non-contributory old-age pension and must notify my Department of the result. This condition has been operative since the scheme commenced in 1994 and participants in the scheme are informed of this condition when they join.
