Aodhán Ó Ríordáin
Ceist:139. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will intervene in the case of a person (details supplied) involving an application for the over 65s benefit payment. [35082/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraWednesday, 30 June 2021
Ceisteanna (139)
Freagraí scríofa
The Benefit Payment for 65 Year Olds, provided for under the Jobseekers Benefit scheme, has been introduced in line with the Programme for Government commitment, to address the position of people who are required to or choose to retire at age 65 before the pension age of 66.
This new benefit payment is designed to bridge the gap for people who retire from employment or self-employment at 65 years of age until they qualify for the State Pension at age 66 years. Recipients of the payment are not required to sign on, engage in activation measures or be available for and genuinely seeking work which is normally the case for recipients of a Jobseeker’s payment.
To be eligible for the payment a person must satisfy the qualifying conditions of the scheme including the PRSI social insurance contribution requirement.
A person must have paid 104 PRSI insurable employment contributions at class A, H or P or paid 156 class S contributions if they are self-employed. The second contribution condition requires that a person must also have 39 reckonable contributions paid or credited in the Governing Contribution Year (GCY). The GCY for 2021 is 2019. At least 13 of these contributions must be paid. Where a person does not have 13 paid contributions in the GCY they can be from 2 years before the GCY, the last complete tax year or the current tax year. Alternatively, a person could qualify if they have at least 26 reckonable contributions paid in both the GCY and the year immediately preceding the GCY.
Self-employed contributors pay PRSI on a wide variety of self-employment income. These contributions help to ensure that individuals qualify for valuable social welfare benefits, including pensions. The qualifying conditions for Jobseekers Benefit (Self-Employed) include the requirement that a person has completely ceased self-employment. For that reason, individuals who continue to pay Class S PRSI on a variety of income sources are not regarded as having ceased self-employment; they continue to pay Class S PRSI and are to be regarded as being in insurable self-employment.
The issue raised by the Deputy regarding Class S PRSI contributions arising solely from personal pensions has been raised with my Department and the matter is under consideration.
I trust that this clarifies the position for the Deputy.