S.I. No. 13/1953 - Social Welfare (Voluntary Contributors) Regulations, 1953.

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Social Welfare (Voluntary Contributors) Regulations, 1953.

2. These Regulations shall come into operation on the 5th day of January, 1953.

3. (1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—

" the Act " means the

Social Welfare Act, 1952

;

" the Minister " means the Minister for Social Welfare.

(2) References in these Regulations to any enactment or regulations shall include a reference to such enactment or regulations as amended or extended by any subsequent enactment, order or regulations.

4. (1) The application to be made under subsection (2) of section 4 of the Act to become a voluntary contributor shall be made to the Minister in writing in the form for the time being approved by him for that purpose or in such other manner as the Minister may accept in the circumstances of any particular case.

(2) The application shall be made within the period of twelve months after the end of the contribution year in which the applicant ceases to be an employed contributor or in which an employment contribution was credited to him in accordance with the provisions of the Social Welfare (Contributions) Regulations, 1953, (

S.I. No. 5 of 1953

) or such longer period as the Minister, having regard to the circumstances of the particular case, may allow.

5. A person who wishes to become a voluntary contributor under the provisions of subsection (2) of section 4 of the Act shall elect to become a voluntary contributor as from the beginning of the contribution week next following the contribution week in which he ceased to be an employed contributor.

6. (1) The application to be made under section 70 of the Act to become a voluntary contributor shall be made to the Minister in writing in the form set out in the Schedule to these Regulations or in such form substantially to the same effect as the Minister may approve.

(2) The application shall be made on or before the 5th day of April, 1953 or on or before such later date as the Minister, having regard to the circumstances of the particular case, may allow.

7. Where the average per contribution year of the contributions paid or credited for the four contribution years ending on the last day of the contribution year during which a person ceased to be an employed contributor is less than thirty-nine, such person may pay such number of voluntary contributions as is required to bring the average up to thirty-nine if—

(

a

) as respects the three contribution years immediately preceding the contribution year in which he ceased to be an employed contributor, the payment is made within twenty-eight days of the receipt of notice requiring payment of such contributions or within such longer period as the Minister may allow and

(

b

) as respects the fourth of the said contribution years, the payment is made within the period within which voluntary contributions paid after the due dates are regarded in accordance with article 14 of the Social Welfare (Contributions) Regulations, 1953 as having been paid on the due dates.

8. Where the number of contributions in any contribution year paid by or credited to a person insured as a voluntary contributor is less than thirty-nine that person shall cease to be entitled to pay contributions as a voluntary contributor.

9. A voluntary contributor shall have the same right to disability benefit, unemployment benefit, marriage benefit, maternity benefit or treatment benefit as he would have had if, following his cesser as an employed contributor, he had not become a voluntary contributor.

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Social Welfare this Fifth day of January, One Thousand Nine Hundred and Fifty-three.

SÉAMAS Ó RIAIN,

Minister for Social Welfare.

SCHEDULE.

SOCIAL WELFARE ACT, 1952

.

APPLICATION BY A PERSON INSURED VOLUNTARILY UNDER THE NATIONAL INSURANCE ACT, 1911, TO BECOME A VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTOR UNDER THE

SOCIAL WELFARE ACT, 1952

.

To the Minister for Social Welfare

I hereby apply to become a voluntary contributor under the

Social Welfare Act, 1952

.

Signature in full.......................................................

Postal address in full................................................

............................................................ .................

Insurance No.......................................

Date : ................................................

S.I. No. 13 of 1953.

SOCIAL WELFARE (VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTORS) REGULATIONS, 1953.

The Minister for Social Welfare, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by the

Social Welfare Act, 1952

(No. 11 of 1952) and in particular by sections 3, 4, 37 and 70 of the said Act and, as respect article 9 hereof, with the sanction of the Minister for Finance, hereby makes the following Regulations :—