Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 section 128

Disregard of self-employment contributions in certain cases

Section 128 sets out additional contribution conditions that self-employed contributors must satisfy before becoming entitled to receive a State pension.

• For pension claims made from 6 April 1995 onwards, self-employed contributors must have paid contributions for at least one complete contribution year before claiming.
• All outstanding self-employment contributions must be fully paid before any pension becomes payable.
• An exception applies where only the final complete contribution year's contributions remain unpaid—in such cases, the pension payment restriction does not apply.
• Claims submitted on or before 31 December 2009 are exempt from the requirement to clear all contributions before pension payment begins.