TYNWALD QUESTION PAPER FOR ORAL ANSWER Tuesday, 10th July, 2007.
QUESTION 6O PETER KARRAN . "How many UK pensioners in
receipt of the state pension, with 10 years (or more) as permanent residents in
the Isle of Man do not receive the Manx Pension Supplement."
WRITTEN REPLY: Both the Department and Tynwald
have consistently maintained that entitlement to the Pension Supplement should
be on a contributory, rather than a residency, basis. Entitlement to the
Supplement rests, inter alia, on the payment of a minimum of 10 years
contribution on the Island. There are around 4,500 Island-resident pensioners
who do not currently qualify for Pension Supplement because they have not paid
contributions on the Island for at least 10 years prior to attaining State
pension age. The Department's computer systems do not
record periods of residence on the Island, so it is not possible to state with
any certainty how many of these pensioners will have been resident on the
Island for 10 or more years.
The expression "UK pensioner" may be interpreted in a number of
different ways. Without clarity, I am unable to provide any further
comment."