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State Pension (contributory)
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9. The Principal Act is amended—
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(a) in section 108—
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(i) in subsection (2), by the insertion of the following definitions:
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“ ‘aggregated contributions method’, in relation to a claimant, has the meaning assigned to it by section 109(6B);
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‘home caring period’ means, in the case of a person who attained pensionable age on or after 1 September 2012, any contribution week during which—
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(a) he or she was aged 16 or over but under pensionable age and was resident in the State, or was a person referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of section 219(2),
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(b) he or she was not engaged in remunerative employment, other than employment specified in paragraph 5 of Part 2 of Schedule 1, or he or she does not have a paid or credited or voluntary contribution reckonable (“contribution reckonable”) for State pension (contributory) purposes,
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(c) he or she was not in receipt of a weekly payment under this Act, other than a payment under section 100 or 180, or a payment under section 186F, and
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(d) he or she can, in accordance with regulations made under subsection (2B), demonstrate that, due to the nature and extent of his or her home carer responsibilities, he or she was unable to engage in insurable employment or self-employment;
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and “home carer” shall be construed accordingly,
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(ii) in subsection (2A), by the insertion of “or ‘home caring period’ ” after “homemaker”, and
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(iii) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (2A):
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“(2B) The Minister may by regulations make provision for the conditions required to be satisfied in order to qualify for home caring periods, and any such regulations may provide for—
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(a) the class or classes of person who may be regarded as a home carer,
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(b) the class or classes of person in respect of whom a home carer may provide care for the purpose of home caring periods,
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(c) the evidence that may be offered by a person to demonstrate the nature, extent and duration of home caring.”,
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(b) in section 109, by the insertion of the following subsections after subsection (6):
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“(6A) In the case of a claimant who attained pensionable age on or after 1 September 2012 and who, on or after 30 March 2018, would be entitled to the rate of State pension (contributory) specified in Schedule 2 but for the fact that the contribution condition set out in subsection (1)(c) is not satisfied, shall, on or after 30 March 2018, have a right to State pension (contributory) at a rate calculated in accordance with subsection (6B).
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(6B) (a) In the case of a claimant referred to in subsection (6A), the rate in respect of that person shall, subject to paragraph (b), be calculated by reference to the amount determined (‘the aggregated contributions method’) where the rate of State pension (contributory) specified in Schedule 2 is multiplied by the percentage obtained when the aggregate number of—
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(i) contributions reckonable for State pension (contributory), and
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(ii) home caring periods,
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is divided by 2080 and multiplied by 100, and where the amount so calculated is a multiple of 5 cent but not also a multiple of 10 cent, it shall be rounded up to the nearest 10 cent, and where the amount is not a multiple of 5 cent or 10 cent, be rounded to the nearest 10 cent.
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(b) In calculating the rate referred to in paragraph (a), the aggregate number of reckonable contributions and home caring periods shall not exceed 2080, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, in so calculating such rate—
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(i) the number of credited contributions shall not exceed 520,
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(ii) the number of home caring periods shall not exceed 1040, and
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(iii) the aggregate number of credited contributions referred to in subparagraph (i) and home caring periods referred to in subparagraph (ii) shall not in any event exceed 1040.
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(6C) In the case of a State pension (contributory) calculated in accordance with the aggregated contributions method, any increase payable under section 112(2) shall be at 100 per cent of the rate specified in column (4) or (5), as the case may be, of Part 1 of Schedule 2.”,
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and
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(c) in section 109(17), by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (a):
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“(a) be payable at a rate less than that specified in Schedule 2, and the rate specified by the regulations may vary in relation to the proportion to which the number of—
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(i) employment contributions paid in respect of or credited to the insured person which are reckonable for State pension (contributory) purposes,
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(ii) self-employment contributions paid by him or her which are reckonable for State pension (contributory) purposes,
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(iii) voluntary contributions paid by him or her which are reckonable for State pension (contributory) purposes, and
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(iv) home caring periods to which he or she is entitled for the purpose of a calculation under subsection (6A),
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bears to the total number of those employment contributions, self-employment contributions, voluntary contributions and home caring periods, but any increase of pension in respect of a qualified child shall be paid at the rate specified in Schedule 2,”.
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