§ Mr. Hoyleasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether foster mothers have to pay for their own national insurance stamp if they desire to qualify for a retirement pension.
§ Mr. O'MalleyIn the typical situation where the foster mother applies the whole of any allowance to the maintenance of the child, there is no gainful employment. To qualify for a retirement pension on her own contributions she may need to pay voluntary class 3 contributions by stamping a card or by authorising direct debit of a bank or Giro account, for some or all the years concerned. The local social security office will be pleased to give advice on whether and how to pay these contributions.