Social Welfare Act, 2001

Voluntary contributions (new rates and amounts of contributions).

11.—(1) Section 22(1) of the Principal Act is amended by the substitution for paragraphs (a) and (b) of the following paragraphs:

“(a) Subject to paragraph (c), a contribution (in this Act referred to as a ‘voluntary contribution’), in the case of a person who becomes a voluntary contributor by virtue of paragraph (a) of section 21(1) and who is under pensionable age, shall be payable in each contribution year, at such time or times and in such manner as the Minister shall prescribe, at a percentage rate, as set out in paragraph (b), of the amount of the reckonable income (if any) of the contributor in the preceding contribution year or in an amount (‘minimum annual amount’), as set out in paragraph (b), whichever is the greater.

(b) (i) In the case of a voluntary contributor who, immediately before ceasing to be an employed contributor, was employed in employment in respect of which the employment contributions payable are not reckonable for the purposes of old age (contributory) pension, the percentage rate shall be 2.6 per cent. and the minimum annual amount shall be £100.

(ii) In the case of a voluntary contributor who, immediately before ceasing to be an employed contributor, was employed in employment in respect of which the employment contributions payable are reckonable for the purposes of old age (contributory) pension, the percentage rate shall be 6.6 per cent. and the minimum annual amount shall be £250.

(iii) In the case of a person to whom subsection (2) applies and who, by virtue of compliance with that subsection, continues to be a voluntary contributor, the percentage rate shall be 4 per cent. and the minimum annual amount shall be £150.”.

(2) Section 23(1) of the Principal Act (as amended by section 11 of the Act of 1996) is amended by the substitution for “£215” of “£200”.

(3) This section comes into operation on 6 April 2001.