# Contributory pension married couple



## bitethebullet (9 Aug 2021)

The above is 16 years away but I  just want to make sure we're OK financially. We will both probably have the max amount of contributions so would that equate to 248 euros each per week ?


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## Sue Ellen (9 Aug 2021)

16 years is a long time away and so many changes will most likely happen with pensions.

If you don't already have an account with www.mygovid.ie you should both sign up for a *full access* account and get statements from the Social Welfare contributions section of the site. This may help with determining your contributions to-date. You could try ringing the Department at:


State Pension (Contributory)​Address:
Social Welfare Services, Department of Social Protection, College Road , Sligo , F91 T384
Website:
www.gov.ie/SPC
Email:
state.con@welfare.ie
Phone number:
(071) 915 7100
1890 500 000


General Information here.


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## bitethebullet (9 Aug 2021)

Thanks for the reply. Yes I know a lot can happen in 16 years and I know about the Contribution statement available on mygov which we both have access to.  Currently though as it stands what is the situation with a married couple with max prsi Contributions. Is it 248 each ?


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## jpd (9 Aug 2021)

Yes


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## noproblem (9 Aug 2021)

bitethebullet said:


> Thanks for the reply. Yes I know a lot can happen in 16 years and I know about the Contribution statement available on mygov which we both have access to.  Currently though as it stands what is the situation with a married couple with max prsi Contributions. Is it 248 each ?


€248.30 actually. It ads up,  in your case to over €31 in the year. If you were short 30c with Mr Tesco you'd soon find out how valuable it is to have it.


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## bitethebullet (9 Aug 2021)

That's not bad at all. Nearly 500 a week and then my private pension should bring it up another bit.


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## Laughahalla (18 Aug 2021)

bitethebullet said:


> That's not bad at all. Nearly 500 a week and then my private pension should bring it up another bit.


yep, The way I see it, the full state pension takes care of the basics and your private pension is for the nicer/more enjoyable things in life


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## time to plan (19 Aug 2021)

Laughahalla said:


> yep, The way I see it, the full state pension takes care of the basics and your private pension is for the nicer/more enjoyable things in life


And your UK state pension on top of that is a great comfort if you can make the NIC voluntary contributions.


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## Sharpie (24 Aug 2021)

I have heard it suggested by members on this website and elsewhere that there is a possibility that the State Pension could be means tested in the future. If so does anyone know how low that the government could constitutionally lower it to and when is the earliest they could do so ? It makes a bit of a laugh of those of us who have been doing with out the little luxuries of life so that we can put away a few quid for our later life , not to be a burden on our families and society in general, if that happens.


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## noproblem (24 Aug 2021)

The state contributory pension is not means tested, the non contributory state pension is.


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## Shirazman (24 Aug 2021)

Sharpie said:


> I have heard it suggested by members on this website and elsewhere that there is a possibility that the State Pension could be means tested in the future. If so does anyone know how low that the government could constitutionally lower it to and when is the earliest they could do so ? It makes a bit of a laugh of those of us who have been doing with out the little luxuries of life so that we can put away a few quid for our later life , not to be a burden on our families and society in general, if that happens.



Just about everything is possible in the future.    What seems pretty certain is that the Social Insurance Fund won't be able to keep paying out Contributory Pensions at the current rate to the increasing number of people who will become eligible to claim one.   [See page 2 of *LINK*].

So the issue for both the current and future governments  is how to bridge the shortfall.   Options could include increasing employers' and/or employees' PRSI contributions, reducing the value of weekly benefits paid, increasing the eligibility age for pensions and maybe even introducing a means test!   So, until someone grasps the nettle - rather than kicking the can down the road - all bets are off.

And bear in mind that Sinn Fein has promised to reduce the State pension age to 65 when it takes over at the top!   I can only assume that the long-suffering SF magic money tree will be used to fund this risible promise!


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## Conan (24 Aug 2021)

The Govt established a Pensions Commission at the start of 2021 to review the State Pension system.  Originally due to report last July, it now looks likely to report in the Autumn.  We will have to wait and see what it recommends.  Then Govt (of whatever makeup) will have to decide what recommendations (if any) to implement.


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## jpd (24 Aug 2021)

Let me guess what they will propose to close the gap between PRSI payments in and pension payments out

1. Increase the pension age
2. Increase employee AND employee PRSI rates
3. Reduce increase in pension payments

All of these are already known options and it will have to be a mix of all of them - I do not expect any concrete figures or suggestions.

This will go the way of climate change mitigation - talk, talk, talk and then drastic action in the face of a looming catastropic lack of money and borrowing requirement -  probably in 10-15 years so nothing for the current class  of politicians to worry too much about - it's 3 general elections or more away


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## Shirazman (24 Aug 2021)

jpd said:


> Let me guess what they will propose to close the gap between PRSI payments in and pension payments out
> 
> 1. Increase the pension age
> 2. Increase employee AND employee PRSI rates
> ...



1.  Political suicide if the main Opposition Party promise not to implement such a change.
2.  Political suicide if the main Opposition Party promise not to implement such a change.
3.  Political suicide if the main Opposition Party promise not to implement such a change.

So how about:   4.  Kick the can a bit further down the road?


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## Conan (24 Aug 2021)

There is always the SF “Money tree” which will pay for all the freebies. 
The reality is that with people living much longer in retirement, State Pensions are much more expensive. And the State Pension is not funded, it’s effectively paid out of current taxation. So the “funding” problem is increasing and solutions are limited:
- increase PRSI (taxation)
- increase the pension age (as was previously proposed)
- limit future increases
- introduce some form of “means testing”, even for the Contributory State Pension


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## jpd (24 Aug 2021)

Yes, we will kick the can down the road but at some point you run out of road and end up in a quagmire

The sensible solution is to build a new road now and bypass the quagmire but unfortunately our political system does not allow this solution


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## marsaday (24 Aug 2021)

noproblem said:


> The state contributory pension is not means tested, the non contributory state pension is.


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## johnkieran (27 Aug 2021)

Shirazman said:


> So the issue for both the current and future governments  is how to bridge the shortfall.   Options could include increasing employers' and/or employees' PRSI contributions, reducing the value of weekly benefits paid, increasing the eligibility age for pensions *and maybe even introducing a means test!   *


I'm a couple of years out from reaching the state retirement age and have paid PRSI for over 40 years.  Given employee and employer contributions, the amount paid over the years comes to hundreds of thousands.  In return I've claimed the occasional dental check up and little if anything else.

Can the government of the day realistically turn around and cut off my entitlement to the contributory state pension if I happen to have a healthy private pension or other means?


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## NoRegretsCoyote (27 Aug 2021)

johnkieran said:


> Can the government of the day realistically turn around and cut off my entitlement to the contributory state pension


Technically, yes. It's just a law, and any law can be repealed.

Politically, I think negligible chance. A full working life will always get you a full contributory state pension.

Inflation might eat away a bit, and the minimum age might be increased. But you can build your retirement planning on it.


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## jpd (27 Aug 2021)

As long as the SF Money Tree keeps growing, sure, we'll be fine


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## Shirazman (27 Aug 2021)

johnkieran said:


> I'm a couple of years out from reaching the state retirement age and have paid PRSI for over 40 years.  Given employee and employer contributions, the amount paid over the years comes to hundreds of thousands.  In return I've claimed the occasional dental check up and little if anything else.
> 
> Can the government of the day realistically turn around and cut off my entitlement to the contributory state pension if I happen to have a healthy private pension or other means?



In a word, yes.  

After all, up to 31 December 2013, anyone with the appropriate number of PRSI contributions was entitled (a great word "entitled" isn't it?) to be paid the state contributory pension with effect from their 65th birthday.   And then one day later, they weren't, but had to wait for another year.

So 'entitlements' can - and do - change over time, although the tendency is for governments to allow long lead-in periods for such changes to give affected people an opportunity to adjust their financial planning accordingly.


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## jpd (28 Aug 2021)

and to dampen the enraged response


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## Shirazman (28 Aug 2021)

jpd said:


> and to dampen the enraged response



A strategy that failed abysmally last year when both SF and Willie O'Dea attacked the decision, taken in 2011 (by a FF government that included the one and only Willie O'Dea!) to increase the pension age to 67 in 2022!


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