106. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons previously in receipt of disability allowance whose weekly social welfare income was reduced, unchanged or increased following their transition to the State pension (contributory) or State pension (non-contributory) on reaching the age of 66 in each of the past ten years, in tabular form; and the average change in payment experienced by this cohort. [74596/26]

Disability Allowance is a means-tested, weekly allowance paid to those with a disability.  It is available to those who are 16 or over and under 66.  When a person who has been in receipt of the Disability Allowance reaches 66, the payment will cease and they may apply for and receive the State Pension (Non-Contributory) or State Pension (Contributory), provided they satisfy the conditions of either payment.

A breakdown of social welfare payment rates by claim characteristics, such as where the customer transitioned from another welfare scheme, is not available.  Average weekly payment rates are collected on a scheme level and published in the Departments Quarterly Statistics Report (Table 1).

It is noticeable that the average weekly payment rate of both pension types was higher than the rate for Disability Allowance for all quarters.  Note that average rates are impacted by cost of living measures such as the €200 lump sum in April 2023 as well as annual rate increases; they also include additional benefits that are paid as a top up on the underlying scheme, such as Fuel Allowance.

Table 1: Average weekly payment rate by scheme and quarter

State Pension (Non-Contributory) is, like Disability Allowance, a means tested payment while State Pension (Contributory) is not.  The rate of the State Pension (Contributory) will depend on the social insurance contributions of the person concerned.  As a rule, a customer will be on the scheme where they are entitled to a higher rate.

For the purposes of the means-test for Disability Allowance and State Pension (Non-Contributory), from application stage and throughout the lifetime of a claim, the applicant must provide full and up to date details of any income(s), asset(s), savings and investment(s) held, including any changes that occur.  Section 159 (ca) of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 ensures that the rate of payment for the State Pension (Non-Contributory) is not lower than the rate the person is entitled to under Disability Allowance immediately before their entitlement to State Pension (Non-Contributory) begins.

Finally, payment rates for the relevant schemes over the last 10 years are published in my Department's Annual Statistics report, and are shown in Table 2 below.

Table 2: Scheme payment rates 2015-2025