S.I. No. 255/1960 - Social Welfare (Old Age (Contributory) Pension) (Transitional) Regulations, 1960.

S.I. No. 255 of 1960.

SOCIAL WELFARE (OLD AGE (CONTRIBUTORY) PENSION) (TRANSITIONAL) REGULATIONS, 1960.

I, SEÁN MacENTEE, Minister for Social Welfare, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the Social Welfare Act, 1952 (No. 11 of 1952) and section 66A of the said Act (inserted therein by section 13 of the Social Welfare (Amendment) Act, 1960 (No. 25 of 1990)), hereby make the following Regulations:—

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Social Welfare (Old Age (Contributory) Pension) (Transitional) Regulations, 1960.

2. In these Regulations unless the context otherwise requires—

"the Acts" means the Social Welfare Acts, 1952 to 1960;

"the National Health Insurance Acts" means the National Health Insurance Acts, 1911 to 1952;

"contribution year" means, in relation to a period prior to the 5th day of January, 1953, a contribution year for the purposes of the National Health Insurance Acts;

"entry into insurance" means entry into insurance under the Acts or in the case of a person who had been insured under the National Health Insurance Acts his last entry into insurance as an employed contributor under the latter Acts before he attained the age of sixty years;

"excepted contributions" means—

(a) contributions (including voluntary contributions) paid or credited under the Acts by or in respect of a person in respect of any period during which such person was employed mainly in one or more of the employments specified in sub-article (1) of article 5 of the Social Welfare (Modifications of Insurance) Regulations, 1956 ( S.I. No. 236 of 1956 ).

(b) voluntary contributions paid by a person who

(i) immediately before ceasing to be an employed contributor, was employed mainly in one or more of the employments specified in sub-article (1) of article 5 of the Social Welfare (Modifications of Insurance) Regulations, 1956, or

(ii) having been a person to whom section 70 of the Social Welfare Act, 1952 , applied, had become insured voluntarily under the National Health Insurance Acts, by virtue of subsection (1) of section 71 of the Widows' and Orphans' Pensions Act, 1935 (No. 29 of 1935),

(c) contributions paid or excused or deemed to be or treated as paid under the National Health Insurance Acts, by or in respect of a person in respect of any period during which such person

(i) was a voluntary contributor under those Acts by virtue of subsection (1) of section 71 of the Widows' and Orphans' Pensions Act, 1935 , or

(ii) while a voluntary contributor under those Acts was employed in an excepted employment to which the Widows' and Orphans' Pensions Act, 1935 , applied or, having ceased such employment, had not become an employed contributor under the National Health Insurance Acts,

(d) contributions credited under the Acts to a person to whom paragraph (c) above refers and who was a voluntary contributor under the National Health Insurance Acts on the 4th day of January, 1953, in respect of any period during which such person did not become an employed contributor under the Acts, and

(e) contributions deemed to be or treated as paid under the National Health Insurance Acts in pursuance of reciprocal arrangements under those Acts or under the Social Welfare (Reciprocal Arrangements) Act, 1948 (No. 10 of 1948);

"former contributor" means a person who was insured under the Acts or under the National Health Insurance Acts at any time prior to the 2nd day of January, 1961;

"Fourth Schedule" means the Fourth Schedule to the Social Welfare Act, 1952 , as amended by the Social Welfare (Modification of Contribution Conditions for Benefit) Regulations, 1956 ( S.I. No. 156 of 1956 ) and the Social Welfare (Amendment) Act, 1960 , and

"pension" means old age (contributory) pension.

3. The contribution condition for pension contained in subparagraph (a) of paragraph 6 of the Fourth Schedule shall be deemed to be satisfied by the entry into insurance of a former contributor who was insured under the National Health Insurance Acts.

4. For the purpose of satisfying the contribution condition for pension contained in sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph 6 of the Fourth Schedule, the following provisions shall have effect in relation to a former contributor:—

(a) entry into insurance shall be entry into insurance as defined in article 2 of these Regulations,

(b) contributions (not being excepted contributions) which are employment contributions and contributions paid as an employed contributor under the National Health Insurance Acts {including any such contributions paid prior to entry into insurance as defined in article 2 of these Regulations) shall be reckoned, and

(c) in reckoning contributions paid as an employed contributor under the National Health Insurance Acts, every two contributions so paid shall be reckoned as three contributions paid and any odd contribution so paid shall be reckoned as two contributions paid.

5. For the purpose of satisfying the contribution condition for pension contained in sub-paragraph (c) of paragraph 6 of the Fourth Schedule, the following provisions shall have effect in relation to a former contributor:—

(a) employment contributions and voluntary contributions paid by or in respect of or credited to a former contributor (not being excepted contributions) shall reckon towards satisfying the said contribution condition,

(b) each contribution paid or excused or deemed to be or treated as paid under the National Health Insurance Acts (not being an excepted contribution) in the period over which the average number of contributions paid or credited per contribution year is calculated in accordance with article 6 of these Regulations shall be treated as two contributions paid or credited under the Acts and shall so reckon towards satisfying the said contribution condition, and

(c) where the former contributor is a woman, the period from the 7th day of July, 1952, up to and including the 5th day of July, 1953, shall be treated as a contribution year.

6.—(1) The contribution condition for pension contained in sub-paragraph (c) of paragraph 6 of the Fourth Schedule shall be deemed to be satisfied in relation to a former contributor whose entry into insurance occurred before the 5th day of January, 1953, and who being a man attained the age of sixty years before the 5th day of January, 1953, or being a woman attained that age before the 6th day of July, 1953, where the average per contribution year of contributions paid nn respect of or credited to him is not less than forty-eight—

(a) in the period of the last ten complete contribution years before he attained pensionable age, or

(b) in the period of the last fifteen complete contribution years before he attained pensionable age, or in the period from the beginning of the contribution year in which entry into insurance occurred to the end of the last complete contribution year before he attained pensionable age, whichever is the shorter period.

(2) The said contribution condition shall be deemed to be satisfied in relation to a former contributor whose entry into insurance occurred before the 5th day of January, 1953, and who is not a person referred to in sub-article (1) hereof where the average per contribution year of contributions paid in respect of or credited to him is not less than forty-eight—

(a) in the period beginning on the 5th day of January, 1953, as respects a man, or on the 6th day of July, 1953, as respects a woman, and ending at the end of the last complete contribution year before he attained pensionable age, or

(b) where the former contributor had attained the age of fifty-five years before the 5th day of January, 1953, as respects a man, or the 6th day of July, 1953, as respects a woman, in the period of the last fifteen complete contribution years before he attained pensionable age, or in the period from the beginning of the contribution year in which entry into insurance occurred to the end of the last complete contribution year before he attained pensionable age, whichever is the shorter period.

(3) In the application of this article to a man, the period from the 7th day of July, 1952, up to and including the 4th day of January, 1953, shall be treated as a contribution year and each contribution credited under the Acts or calculated as paid or credited under the Acts in accordance with paragraph (b) of article 5 hereof in respect of that period shall be reckoned as two contributions paid or credited.

7. Where, by the operation of articles 5 and 6 hereof in the case of a former contributor whose entry into insurance occurred before the 5th day of January, 1953, the average per contribution year of contributions paid or credited is less than forty-eight, the said average so arrived at shall, subject to article 8 of these Regulations, be used to determine whether or not a pension at a reduced rate is payable in accordance with regulations made under section 28A of the Social Welfare Act, 1952 (inserted by the Social Welfare (Amendment) Act, 1960 ).

8. These Regulations shall not operate so as to disentitle to pension, or to reduce the rate of pension payable to, a person who was insured under the Acts before he attained the age of sixty years and whose insurance under the Acts satisfies the contribution conditions for a pension.

GIVEN under my Official Seal this 14th day of December, One Thousand Nine Hundred and Sixty.

SEÁN MacENTEE,

Minister for Social Welfare.

I, SÉAMAS Ó RIAIN, Minister for Finance, hereby sanction the foregoing Regulations.

GIVEN under my Official Seal this 14th day of December, One Thousand Nine Hundred and Sixty.

SÉAMAS Ó RIAIN,

Minister for Finance.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Regulations provide that insurance and contributions under the National Health Insurance Acts, 1911 to 1952, and under the Social Welfare Acts prior to the 2nd January, 1961, other than contributions referred to as "excepted contributions" in Article 2, count for the purposes of satisfying the contribution conditions for old age (contributory) pension contained in Paragraph 6 of the Fourth Schedule to the Social Welfare Act, 1952 , as amended by the Social Welfare (Amendment) Act, 1960 . The Regulations also modify those conditions in the case of persons who were insured under the National Health Insurance Acts. The effect of the Regulations is that

(a) an entry into insurance as an employed contributor under the National Health Insurance Acts before reaching the age of 60 years satisfies the first condition which requires entry into insurance before attaining that age,

(b) every two appropriate contributions paid under the National Health Insurance Acts count as three contributions paid for the purposes of the second condition which requires 156 employment contributions to have been paid since entry into insurance,

(c) every appropriate contribution paid or excused or deemed to be or treated as paid under the National Health Insurance Acts counts as two contributions for the purposes of the third condition which requires a yearly average of not less than 48 contributions paid or credited to the end of the last contribution year before the age of 70,

(d) the yearly average referred to in (c) above is calculated in the case of a person who was insured under the National Health Insurance Acts

(i) from the 5th January, 1953, in the case of a man who was less than 55 years of age on that date (when insurance under the Social Welfare Acts commenced),

(ii) from the 6th July, 1953, in the case of a woman who was less than 55 years of age on that date (the first day of the first contribution year for women under the Social Welfare Acts),

(iii) from the 5th January, 1953, in the case of a man who was between 55 and 60 years of age on that date or, if it is more favourable to him, over the period of the last fifteen contribution years before he reached the age of 70 or the period from and including the contribution year in which he entered insurance, whichever is the shorter period,

(iv) from the 6th July, 1953, in the case of a woman who was between 55 and 60 years of age on that date or, if it is more favourable to her, over the last fifteen contribution years before she attained the age of 70 or the period from and including the contribution year in which she entered insurance, whichever is the shorter period,

(v) where a man was 60 years or more on the 5th January, 1953, the average is calculated over the last ten contribution years before he attained the age of 70 or, if it is more favourable to him, over the last fifteen contribution years before he attained the age of 70 or from and including the contribution year during which he entered insurance, whichever is the shorter period.

(vi) where a woman was 60 years of age or more on the 6th July, 1953, the average is calculated over the last ten contribution years before she attained the age of 70 or, if it is more favourable to her, over the last fifteen contribution years before she attained the age of 70 or from and including the contribution year in which she entered insurance, whichever is the shorter period,

(e) where the yearly average of contributions paid or credited per contribution year, as determined above, is less than forty-eight, the yearly average so arrived at serves to determine whether an old age (contributory) pension at a reduced rate is payable in accordance with regulations relating to partial satisfaction of contribution conditions for old age (contributory) pension made under section 28A of the Social Welfare Act, 1952 , which was inserted by section 10 of the Social Welfare (Amendment) Act, 1960 .

The Regulations include a saving clause to protect a person who would qualify for a pension on his insurance under the Acts from suffering a reduction or loss of pension because he had an earlier insurance under the National Health Insurance Acts.