A person who retires after 30 years' of service with an employer may be entitled to an occupational pension. The terms and conditions of the relevant occupational pension are matters for the person’s employer and not the Minister for Social Protection.
The main supports for people who are under pension age and who are not in employment are the social insurance contribution-based Jobseeker’s Benefit or the means-tested Jobseeker’s Allowance schemes if they satisfy the qualifying conditions for these schemes. One of the statutory qualifying conditions for the jobseekers’ schemes is that a person must be available for and genuinely seeking full-time employment. The qualifying conditions are designed for universal applicability, regardless of the previous employment or profession.
Benefit Payment for 65-Year-Olds 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. The payment is designed to bridge the gap for people who retire from employment or self-employment at age 65 until they qualify for the State Pension at age 66. To be eligible for the payment a person must satisfy the qualifying conditions of the scheme.
I trust that this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
