S.I. No. 235/1994:

SOCIAL WELFARE (OLD AGE (CONTRIBUTORY) PENSION) REGULATIONS, 1994.

SOCIAL WELFARE (OLD AGE (CONTRIBUTORY) PENSION) REGULATIONS, 1994.

The Minister for Social Welfare, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 4 and 84 (6) of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1993 (No. 27 of 1993) hereby makes the following Regulations:--

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Social Welfare (Old Age (Contributory) Pension) Regulations, 1994.

2. In these Regulations--

"homemaker" means a person who--

(a) is resident in the State and is under pensionable age,

(b) is not engaged in remunerative employment, other than employment specified in paragraph 5 of Part II of the First Schedule to the Principal Act, and

(c) either--

(i) resides with and cares for a child under six years of age on a full–time basis, or

(ii) resides with and provides full–time care and attention to a person who is so incapacitated as to require full–time care and attention within the meaning of section 163 (3) of the Principal Act;

"the Principal Act" means the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1993 .

3. The meaning of "yearly average" contained in section 83 (2) of the Principal Act is hereby modified by the insertion after "attaining pensionable age" of the following proviso:

"Provided that in the case of a claimant who was a homemaker for the duration of any complete contribution year, commencing on or after the 6th day of April, 1994, in which the claimant does not have any credited contributions or voluntary contributions, each such contribution year shall be disregarded for the purposes of determining the yearly average of that claimant subject to the total number of contribution years so disregarded not exceeding twenty.".

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Social Welfare, this 18th day of July, 1994.

MICHAEL WOODS,

Minister for Social Welfare.

In accordance with section 4 (5) of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1993 a draft, sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, of these Regulations was laid before and approved by each House of the Oireachtas. The necessary resolutions were passed by Dáil Éireann on the 29th day of June, 1994 and by Seanad Éireann on the 7th day of July, 1994.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

One of the qualifying conditions for Old Age (Contributory) Pension is that the person has a minimum yearly average number of contributions since entering social insurance to reaching pension age.

These Regulations provide that contribution years spent working in the home while caring on a full–time basis for a child, up to 6 years of age, or an incapacitated person will be disregarded in calculating a person's yearly average number of contributions.

These provisions apply from the contribution year commencing on 6th April, 1994 and up to 20 contribution years may be disregarded.