The Social Security (Ireland) Order (Northern Ireland) 2007

ARTICLE 13 Conversion formulae for contributions

(1) For the purpose of calculating entitlement to any benefit under the legislation of Great Britain, Northern Ireland or the Isle of Man in accordance with Articles 17 to 24, contribution periods or equivalent periods completed under the legislation of Ireland before 6 April 1975 shall be treated as if they had been contribution periods or equivalent periods completed under the legislation of Great Britain, Northern Ireland or the Isle of Man, as the case may be.

(2) For the purpose of calculating entitlement to any benefit under the legislation of Great Britain, Northern Ireland or the Isle of Man in accordance with Articles 17 to 24, contribution periods completed as a self-employed person or as a non-employed person or equivalent periods completed under the legislation of Ireland after 5 April 1975 shall be treated as if they had been contribution periods completed as a self-employed person or as a non-employed person or equivalent periods completed under the legislation of Great Britain, Northern Ireland or the Isle of Man, as the case may be.

(3) Subject to paragraph (4), for the purpose of calculating an earnings factor for assessing entitlement to any benefit under the legislation of Great Britain, Northern Ireland or the Isle of Man in accordance with Articles 14 and 16 to 24, a person shall be treated for each week beginning in a relevant income tax year commencing after 5 April 1975, the whole or any part of which week is a contribution period completed as an employed person under the legislation of Ireland, as having paid a contribution as an employed earner, or having earnings on which primary Class 1 contributions have been paid, on earnings equivalent to two-thirds of that year’s upper earnings limit.

(4) For the purpose of calculating entitlement to additional pension under the legislation of Great Britain, Northern Ireland or the Isle of Man, no account shall be taken of any contribution period completed under the legislation of Ireland.

(5) For the purposes of the calculation in Article 18(3), where:

(a) in any income tax year commencing after 5 April 1975, an employed person has completed periods of insurance exclusively in Ireland and the application of paragraph (3) results in that year being a qualifying year under the legislation of Great Britain, Northern Ireland or the Isle of Man, he shall be deemed to have been insured for fifty-two weeks in that year;

(b) any income tax year commencing on or after 5 April 1975 does not count as a qualifying year under the legislation of Great Britain, Northern Ireland or the Isle of Man, any periods of insurance completed in that year shall be disregarded.

(6) For the purpose of calculating the appropriate contribution factor to establish entitlement to any benefit under the legislation of Jersey in accordance with Articles 14, 15, 17 to 27 and 29, a person shall be treated:

(a) for each week in an insurance period completed under the legislation of Ireland, being a week in the relevant quarter, as having paid contributions which derive a quarterly contribution factor of 0.077 for that quarter;

(b) for each week in an insurance period completed under the legislation of Ireland, being a week in a relevant year, as having paid contributions which derive an annual contribution factor of 0.0193 for that year.

(7) For the purpose of calculating entitlement to any benefit under the legislation of Guernsey, in accordance with Articles 14 to 29, contribution periods or equivalent periods completed under the legislation of Ireland shall be treated as if they had been contribution periods or equivalent periods completed under the legislation of Guernsey.

(8) For the purpose of calculating entitlement to any benefit under the legislation of Ireland in accordance with Articles 14 to 29, each contribution period or equivalent period completed under the legislation of Great Britain, Northern Ireland or the Isle of Man before 6 April 1975, shall be treated as if it had been a contribution period or an equivalent period completed under the legislation of Ireland.

(9) For the purpose of calculating entitlement to any benefit under the legislation of Ireland in accordance with Articles 14 to 29, any earnings factor achieved in any income tax year commencing on or after 6 April 1975 under the legislation of Great Britain, Northern Ireland or the Isle of Man shall be converted by the competent authority of the United Kingdom to contribution weeks under the legislation of Ireland by dividing the earnings factor by that income tax year’s lower earnings limit. The result shall be expressed as a whole number, any remaining fraction being ignored. The number of contribution weeks so calculated, subject to a maximum of the number of weeks during which the person was subject to the legislation of Great Britain, Northern Ireland or the Isle of Man, as the case may be, in that year, shall be treated as if they were contribution weeks completed under the legislation of Ireland.

(10) For the purpose of calculating entitlement to any benefit under the legislation of Ireland in accordance with Articles 14 to 29, any insurance periods completed under the legislation of Jersey shall be converted to contribution weeks completed under the legislation of Ireland as follows:

• The competent authority of Jersey shall—

  (a)

  in the case of a quarterly contribution factor, multiply the factor achieved by a person in a quarter by thirteen; and

  (b)

  in the case of an annual contribution factor, multiply the factor achieved by a person in a year by fifty-two.

• The result shall be expressed as a whole number, any remaining fraction being ignored. The number of contribution weeks so calculated, subject to a maximum of the number of weeks during which the person was subject to that legislation in a quarter or in a year, as the case may be, shall be treated as if they were contribution weeks completed under the legislation of Ireland.

(11) For the purpose of calculating entitlement under the legislation of Ireland to any benefit in accordance with Articles 14 to 29 contribution periods or equivalent periods completed under the legislation of Guernsey shall be treated as if they had been contribution periods or equivalent periods completed under the legislation of Ireland.