Social Welfare Act 2012

State pension (contributory) — amendments.

4.— (1) Section 109 (amended by section 4 of the Act of 2006) of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by substituting the following subsection for subsection (8):

“(8) Subject to subsections (8A) and (9), regulations may provide for entitling to State pension (contributory) a claimant who would be entitled to that pension but for the fact that he or she has a yearly average of less than 48.”,

(b) by inserting the following subsection after subsection (8):

“(8A) Where a claimant referred to in subsection (8) has—

(a) attained pensionable age before 1 January 2013, and

(b) a yearly average of less than 20,

he or she is required to have qualifying contributions in respect of not less than 260 contribution weeks since his or her entry into insurance.”,

and

(c) by substituting the following subsection for subsection (14):

“(14) Subject to subsection (15), regulations may provide for entitling to State pension (contributory) aperson who would be entitled to that pension but for the fact that the contribution condition in subsection (1)(c) is not satisfied, where that person—

(a) has attained pensionable age before 1 January 2013, and

(b) having earlier ceased to be an employed contributor became, as a consequence and at the time of the coming into operation of section 12 of the Social Welfare Act 1973 , an employed contributor in respect of whom contributions reckonable for the purposes of the contribution conditions for entitlement to State pension (contributory) were payable.”.

(2) This section comes into operation on 1 January 2013.