§ 69. Mr. Edwin Wainwrightasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give details of the time limits under his regulations within which arrears of contributions, due to a person being out of work for any length of time, must be paid before the weekly amount of pension will be of a lesser rate; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. PentlandContributions may be credited in respect of a period of unemployment if the necessary conditions are satisfied. If they are not, then contributions which a person is liable or entitled to pay in respect of this period are taken into account for pension purposes if paid before pension age (65 for men, 60 for women) and before the end of the sixth contribution year following that in which they were due. Additionally contributions for the year in which pension age is reached and for the preceding year are counted if paid up to one year after the 65th (60th) birthday. In certain circumstances contributions paid after these dates may be treated as having been paid on the due date, if the failure to pay at the proper time was due to ignorance or error on the part of the insured person which was not due to any failure on his part to exercise due care and diligence. These time limits are necessary to protect the National Insurance Fund and we have no plans to vary them.