Individuals with a low number of NI contributions can use contributions paid before they were 18 years old to be eligible for a pension.
Finance Minister Clyde Caruana explained that the measure mandates that the minimum of 10 years of contributions will apply to every person, regardless of the year they were born. If necessary, contributions paid before the age of 18 will also be considered to reach this minimum of 10 years.
This comes after last year, Budget 2025 introduced the requirement of an additional year in NI contributions.
This year’s measure, which will be introduced through a legislative change, addresses inconsistencies in current pension eligibility criteria, which currently vary based on a person’s birth year.
For those born before 1962, the existing requirement sets the minimum at 10 years of social security contributions paid after the age of 18. However, this does not currently extend to those born in other years. For younger individuals, the minimum contributions vary and can be up to a little more than 12 years.
The amendment aims to standardise these criteria, ensuring that the 10-year minimum contribution period, along with the ability to count contributions paid before age 18, is applied to all individuals seeking to qualify for a contributory pension.