John McGuinness
Question:489. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Social Protection to review the case of a person (details supplied). [68064/26]
View answerTuesday, 29 September 2026
Questions (489)
Written answers
The person concerned is in receipt of an increase in respect of a qualified adult on their spouse's state pension contributory. This payment was recently selected for review.
Based on the information provided as part of that review, a letter issued to the spouse of the person concerned on 9 September advising them that the qualified adult’s means had increased since the previous assessment. The revised means assessment included a UK pension, two bank accounts held solely by the person concerned, and half of the balance of a joint bank account held with their spouse. They were afforded 21 days to provide additional information for consideration before a final decision is made, should they wish to do so. If no response is received, a formal decision will issue outlining the revised rate of payment.
The person concerned applied for state pension contributory in 2015. This application was disallowed as they did not satisfy the minimum requirement of 520 full rate paid contributions required to qualify for state pension contributory. The person concerned confirmed to an official in my Department that they were satisfied that no further contributions were due to them in respect of gaps in their record.
A number of reforms were introduced to the State pension contributory, including a provision for people who have been caring for incapacitated dependents for over 20 years (1040 weeks). If this applies to the person concerned and/or their spouse, it is open to them to apply for long-term carers contributions. Periods of caregiving do not need to be consecutive. If the criteria are met, the equivalent of paid contributions may be attributed to cover gaps in their contribution records for state pension contributory. This can help to increase the rate of payment or qualify for state pension contributory. An online application for long term carers contributions is available on MyWelfare.
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.