Vol. 548 No. 5
161 Mr. Fleming asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development if he will request the European Commission to agree not to deduct the old age pension from pensions paid under the scheme of early retirement from farming for people over the age of 66 in line with the recent agreement in respect of widows and widowers pensions. [5681/02]
The recent agreement obtained from the European Commission, which I welcome, was that widows and widowers pensions should not be regarded as national retirement pensions until the recipient reached the normal retirement age of 66 years. Once these pensioners reach the age of 66, however, the amount of their early retirement pension must be reduced by the amount of widows or widowers pensions that they receive.
This was already the position under the previous early retirement scheme and the Commission's agreement relates to the new scheme. It is a requirement of the European Council regulations governing both schemes of early retirement that the early retirement pension may only be granted as a supplement to any national retirement pension that the participant, or his or her spouse or partner in a joint management arrangement, may receive.
