If you paid "stamps" in the 1950s or earlier, for at least five years, you may be entitled to a special contributory pension of £53 (#67) per week. This is a non-means-tested payment and applies particularly to women who worked for several years before getting married or people who may have emigrated in the 1950s.
The Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs is currently getting 300 new applications a week for the special pre-1953 Old Age Contributory Pension. Last year, Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs Mr Dermot Ahern introduced the special pension, payable from May 5th, 2000, for people with pre-1953 full-rate contributions who might otherwise not qualify for a pension, or for only a reduced one.
Under these arrangements, people who commenced insurable employment before 1953 and who had at least five years' paid insurance, comprising either pre-1953 contributions or a combination of pre- and post-1953 contributions, can qualify for a pension. In determining the number of pre-1953 contributions, every two contributions is counted as three.
The pension payable amounts to 50 per cent of the maximum weekly personal rate of pension. That's a payment at the current rate of £53 per week. Allowances for adult and child dependants, where applicable, are also payable at 50 per cent.
Since its introduction, more than 18,000 people have applied for this pension. Some 8,500 have had their applications decided and almost 6,000 of these have been awarded a pre-1953 pension. In addition, the Department has examined some 13,800 cases where pensioners were receiving a pro-rata contributory pension to determine whether they were entitled to a pre-1953 pension at a higher rate. Of those, 8,500 have been awarded pre-1953 pensions, bringing the total in receipt of the new pension to almost 14,000. All of these pensions have been paid retrospective to May 5th, 2000.
The number now receiving the payment is far greater than the Department had anticipated initially, according to a spokeswoman. More than 75 per cent of the new applications are from people living abroad. In most cases, these applications are from people who worked in the State for a few years before emigrating to Britain or the US. The Department has advertised the pre-1953 pension entitlement but, according to the spokeswoman, many people find out about it at pre-retirement seminars or by word of mouth.
These cases may take a little time to process because of difficulties in tracing contribution records so long after the relevant employments. Workers at the time received social insurance stamps, like postage stamps, which were collected on a card and sent into the Department of Social Welfare at the end of the year. The Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs has assured claimants that they will not lose out in payment if they qualify for the pre-1953 pension. Whoever qualifies for this pension will receive payments backdated to May 5th 2000.
If you think you might qualify for this payment or you want to find out more about it, you can get a claim form and information from your local social welfare office. Alternatively you can contact the Pension Services Office in Sligo on 071-69800.
