Voluntary contributions in another EU state

[Forumuser]

Sorry I just re-read the initial couple of posts and see he has 2 years in Germany.

Is it possible to get to the Irish 520 contributions through IB credits if he defers his COAP until he is 70 as will be allowed under the new rules?Maybe @S class would know that?

If that were somehow possible then I would advise paying into the German system until he has reached the 5 years required there and then apply for both pensions directly with the authorities in each country. The Germans will have no problem paying theirs but Ireland doesn't allow you to be "double insured" in the EU so applying directly for the pensions without invoking EU rules to combine pensions may be a better bet, but only if he can reach the 520 contributions in Ireland without using his German ones, assuming he can defer the COAP. The thing is, maybe you can't defer if you are on IB? Maybe they force you off IB and onto whatever pension you qualify for at 66? Be it COAP or NCOAP Anyone know how that works?

One more question....did he have any children? Child-rearing time will be credited in both systems to some extent.

The minimum voluntary payment in Germany is €96.72 per month. If he has the means it would be worth paying them for 3 years to get the 5 years required to be eleigible for a German pension, even if it's a bit of a gamble IMO.

I think this one is going to end up with him receiving a non-contributory pension in Ireland to be honest and he will be doing faaar better in Ireland on that than he would in Germany. Even if he managed to scrape up the 520 paid contributions his contributory pension would surely fall well below the "full" non-contributory one and he'd need some part of a non-contributory pension anyway, which would then be means tested in any case? It's kind of hard to believe that someone went almost their entire working life without making any real provision for their retirement but I guess it happens.

I agree to all.
Our man will end up on the Irish NC pension. He can pay into the German system to reach the required 5 years minimum input and get a small pension out of that. But the Irish will take that money into consideration as means for his NC pension and take the German pension off the NC payment. He wins nothing that way.
No way he can use IB credits to satisfy the 520 contributory pension rule- it must be contributions. He has a good amount of credits- but they are no good until you reach the 520 contribution line. They would count like contributions for a C pension if he has at least 520 contributions- but that would give him only a higher than the lowest payment- but still not enough to live on.
He will be thrown off IB anyhow when it runs out...not too far away from his 66th birthday. Probably supplementary SW then until they put him on the NC pension after his 66th birthday.
There might be kids abroad- he is not sure. No credits in that one. It would be contributions anyhow he would need.
Yes- he is a bit of a character. He lived life as he wanted it to live- but there is always a price to pay in the end.