S.I. No. 211/1992:

SOCIAL WELFARE (MISCELLANEOUS SOCIAL INSURANCE PROVISIONS) REGULATIONS, 1992.

SOCIAL WELFARE (MISCELLANEOUS SOCIAL INSURANCE PROVISIONS) REGULATIONS, 1992.

The Minister for Social Welfare, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 3 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1981 (No. 1 of 1981), and section 79 (7) of that Act (as amended by section 10 of the Social Welfare Act, 1992 (No. 5 of 1992)) and section 84 (4) of that Act (as amended by section 11 of the Social Welfare Act, 1992 ), hereby makes the following Regulations:--

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Social Insurance Provisions) Regulations, 1992.

2. These Regulations shall come into operation on the 13th day of July, 1992.

3. The Social Welfare (Old Age (Contributory) Pension) Regulations, 1960 ( S.I. No. 274 of 1960 ) are hereby amended by--

( a ) the substitution in article 2 for the definition of "relevant period" of the following definition:

"'yearly average' and 'alternative yearly average' have the meanings assigned to them by subsection (3) (inserted by section 10 of the Social Welfare Act, 1992 ) of section 78 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1981 .", and

( b ) the substitution for article 3 of the following articles:

"3.(1) Where a person would be entitled to pension but for the fact that the relevant contribution conditions are not satisfied as respects the yearly average, he shall be entitled to pension at a rate determined in accordance with sub-article (2) of this article: provided that the yearly average is not less than 20.

(2) In the case of a person to whom sub-article (1) of this article applies, where the yearly average is a number included in one of the groups of numbers specified in the first column of the Schedule hereto, the pension shall be payable at the weekly rate shown opposite to that group of numbers in the second column of the said Schedule.

4. In calculating the yearly average or alternative yearly average for old age (contributory) pension purposes (other than a pension payable under article 4 of the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Social Insurance Provisions) Regulations, 1988 ( S.I. No. 263 of 1988 ) (as amended by the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Social Insurance Provisions) (Amendment) Regulations, 1989 ( S.I. No. 18 of 1989 )), a fraction of a whole number consisting of one-half or more shall be rounded up to the nearest whole number and a fraction of less than one-half shall be rounded down to the nearest whole number.".

4. The Social Welfare (Retirement Pension) Regulations, 1970 ( S.I. No. 225 of 1970 ) are hereby amended by--

( a ) the substitution in article 2 for the definition of "relevant period" of the following definition:

"'yearly average' and 'alternative yearly average' have the meanings assigned to them by subsection (4) (inserted by section 11 of the Social Welfare Act, 1992 ) of section 83 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1981 .", and

( b ) the substitution for article 4 (as amended by the Social Welfare (Old Age and Widows' and Orphans' (Contributory) Pensions and Retirement Pension) (Amendment) Regulations, 1972 ( S.I. No. 238 of 1972 )) of the following articles:

"4. (1) Where a person would be entitled to retirement pension but for the fact that the relevant contribution conditions are not satisfied as respects the yearly average, he shall be entitled to pension at a rate determined in accordance with sub-article (2) of this article: provided that the yearly average is not less than 24.

(2) In the case of a person to whom sub-article (1) of this article applies, where the yearly average is a number included in one of the groups of numbers specified in the first column of the Schedule hereto, the pension shall be payable at the weekly rate shown opposite to that group of numbers in the second column of the said Schedule.

5. In calculating the yearly average or alternative yearly average for retirement pension purposes, a fraction of a whole number consisting of one-half or more shall be rounded up to the nearest whole number and a fraction of less than one-half shall be rounded down to the nearest whole number.".

5. These Regulations shall only apply in the case of a claim for old age (contributory) pension or retirement pension made on or after the 13th day of July, 1992.

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Social Welfare this 10th day of July, 1992.

CHARLIE McCREEVY,

Minister for Social Welfare.

The Minister for Finance hereby consents to the making of the foregoing Regulations.

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Finance this 10th day of July, 1992.

BERTIE AHERN,

Minister for Finance.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Regulations provide that in calculating a claimant's yearly average number of contributions for determining entitlement to Retirement Pension and Old Age Contributory Pension (other than the special partial pensions available to insured people affected by the 'earnings limit' which applied up to 1974) a fraction of a number will be rounded to the nearest whole number.