Minister Doherty
Signs Off on Regulations to Allow for Payments
under Pensions Review
First Payments to issue next week
Wednesday, 13
February, 2019: The Department of
Employment Affairs and Social Protection is currently examining the pension
payments of approximately 90,000 pensioners who reached pension age on or after
the 1st September 2012 and were awarded less than the maximum rate of
pension on post Budget 2012 rate-bands.
These payments are being reviewed under a new Total Contributions
Approach (TCA) to pension calculation which includes provision for homecaring
periods. The Department of Employment
Affairs and Social Protection has already written to these pensioners to
explain the process.
The Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection,
Regina Doherty T.D., has signed the necessary regulations which will allow
increased payments to be made on foot of these reviews.
Arising
from this, the Department will start issuing the outcome of reviews and the first
increased payments will start to issue next week. These increased payments will include arrears
to the 30th March 2018 or the pensioner’s 66th birthday
if later than that. Where pension rates do not
increase as a result of this review, they will continue to be paid at their
existing rate of entitlement.
Minister Doherty today said:
“I am delighted to report that all of the necessary legislative and
system changes have now been made to allow these reviews to conclude and I am
delighted to sign the necessary regulations to allow the increased payments to
start being made shortly. These new
measures will benefit many pensioners and even where pension rates do not
increase, I want to assure everyone that no pensioner will be worse off as a
result of this review.”
Given the number of reviews
involved, the process is expected to take a number of months to complete. The Minister said:
“Even though there are tens of thousands of reviews to be conducted, the
Department is committed to doing this as speedily as possible for all the
pensioners involved and has recruited approximately 120 additional staff to
carry out the necessary work.”
ENDS