Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 19 June 2024
72. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will consider changing the rules to allow stamps paid before marriage be taken into account for the State pension (contributory) (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26397/24]
View answerThe marriage bar was a legal requirement for women in the Irish civil service and some areas of the public service to retire from employment after marriage. While the legislation applied only to the civil and public sector, a similar policy was adopted by other sectors, such as the banking sector. The marriage bar for civil servants was removed from legislation in 1973.
Civil and public servants, including those who worked in our public health service, recruited prior to April 1995 are not entitled to the State Pension (Contributory) and would not have been entitled to it had they continued working as a civil or public servant, regardless of gender and marital status, due to the application of a modified PRSI rate returned as Class B or Class D.
There are no plans to allow social insurance contributions paid at the modified Class B or D rates be reckonable for the State Pension (Contributory).
Provisions exist for the award of a mixed insurance pro rata state pension, where a person has substantial periods of PRSI coverage that are not reckonable for State Pension (Contributory) purposes (ie. modified contributions). In order to qualify for a pro rata pension, a person must have a minimum of 260 full-rate paid contributions since their entry into insurance.
Matters relating to the pension entitlements for civil and public servants recruited prior to April 1995 are a matter for my colleague the Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
