Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 section 109

Conditions for receipt

Section 109 sets out the contribution conditions a claimant must satisfy to qualify for the State pension (contributory), including the transitional arrangements for moving from the yearly average method to the aggregated contributions method between 2025 and 2034.

• A claimant must have entered insurance at least 10 years before pensionable age and accumulated at least 520 qualifying contributions (or a combination of qualifying and voluntary contributions), with a yearly average of at least 48.
• Where a claimant does not meet the yearly average requirement, pension entitlement may be calculated using the aggregated contributions method, which bases the pension rate on total contributions and home caring periods divided by 2,080.
• For claimants reaching pensionable age between 2025 and 2033, the pension is calculated using whichever is more favourable: the aggregated contributions method alone, or a blended calculation that gradually transitions from the yearly average approach to the aggregated method over this period.
• Reduced pension rates apply where a claimant has a yearly average below 48, and special provisions exist for self-employed contributors who first entered insurance after age 56.