Pension advice for exhausted Nurse

[Leyla59]

I am asking for my friend who will turn 62 this month. She has worked as a Nurse all her life partly in another EU country but the last 26 years in Ireland.
She feels exhausted of nursing and is looking for options to retire at the age of 63 rather then at 65 with the transition payment. She will be getting a monthly pension from her employer of Euro 320 and a lump sum of Euro 20000. She also has a ARF of about Euro 22000. Is there any advise for her? If she resigns from her job Is it possible to claim unempoyment benefit as it might be unlikely that she will find other employment at her age? If she claimed unempoyment benefit would the Euro 320 count as deductible income? Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[ClubMan]

She has worked as a Nurse all her life partly in another EU country but the last 26 years in Ireland.

If she hasn't done so already she should ensure that she gets credit for any social insurance payments made in another country

Combining social insurance contributions from abroad

Combining social insurance contributions paid in Ireland and abroad can help you qualify for a social welfare payment. Find out more.

www.citizensinformation.ie

as they may be important for qualifying for a state contributory pension when she reaches 66 and maybe other welfare benefits.

State Pension (Contributory)

The State Pension (Contributory), previously called the Old Age (Contributory) Pension, is payable to people aged 66 and over who have worked and paid enough social insurance contributions.

www.citizensinformation.ie

If she was in the UK then this thread may be of interest/relevance:

About to pay voluntary UK national insurance contributions

Moved to Ireland from the UK 15 years ago and I've worked in Ireland consistently since then except a period of unemployment in 2009. I have 7 full years NI contributions up to 2005 from employment before moving here, with 15 years missing. I applied to HMRC using form NI38/CF83 and I got a...

www.askaboutmoney.com

if she resigns from her job Is it possible to claim unempoyment benefit as it might be unlikely that she will find other employment at her age?

She should check if she qualifies for Jobseekers Benefit or Allowance.

Social welfare payments and work

www.citizensinformation.ie

Note that JB is only payable for 9 months.
If she quits due to burnout then the claim is unlikely to be deferred due to her quitting voluntarily.

If she claimed unempoyment benefit would the Euro 320 count as deductible income? Thanks in advance for any advice.

Yes, both forms of income are assessable for income tax.

Taxation of social welfare payments

Find out which social welfare payments are taxable, and which payments are not.

www.citizensinformation.ie

Taxation of pensions

How different types of pensions are taxed in Ireland.

www.citizensinformation.ie

It's difficult to comment on the occupational pension/ARF issues without more details. Her employer/pension trustees should be able to give some basic guidance on her pension entitlements and maybe how she can best optimise her pension situation.

 

[Leyla59]

Thank you for the reply. Q: would the e320 monthly private pension from her employer deducted from any unempoyment benefits? (provided she would qualify)

 

[ClubMan]

Thank you for the reply. Q: would the e320 monthly private pension from her employer deducted from any unempoyment benefits? (provided she would qualify)

Welfare benefits such as Jobseekers Benefit are based on PRSI contributions and are not means tested. Welfare allowances such as Jobseekers Allowance are means tested. See the links that I posted above.

If she were to receive Jobseekers Benefit and a pension payment then both would be added together and assessed for income tax.

 

[Protocol]

Is this person a nurse in the HSE?

320 pm seems a low pension after 26 years in a PS pension scheme?

 

[POC]

As far as I‘m aware, choosing to take early retirement is not considered resigning.

 

[ClubMan]

As far as I‘m aware, choosing to take early retirement is not considered resigning.

But presumably retiring early means that this person will not be able to claim Jobseekers Benefit?

 

[bstop]

But presumably retiring early means that this person will not be able to claim Jobseekers Benefit?

They can claim jobseekers benefit and if they meet the PRSI requirements they would be entitled to receive the payment. The only argument would be whether a penalty of a delay for up to 9 weeks would apply.

 

[ClubMan]

But if you retire are you available for and seeking work?
I wouldn't have thought so.

 

[bstop]

A person can retire from a stressful job and then seek to take up a new career.
At any age you can be genuinely seeking work.

 

[bstop]

She feels exhausted of nursing and is looking for options to retire at the age of 63

If she has sufficient S class Prsi contributions from her ARF she will qualify for the Payment for 65 year olds. If not and she was paying A class Prsi she will need 39 A class Prsi contributions, of which 13 must be paid contributions, in her 63 year. This means she would need to continue working for 13 weeks into her 63rd year and then sign on for A class Prsi credits immediately. If she qualifies for jobseekers benefit she will get the A class credits if she does not qualify it is crucial to sign on for credits.

 

[Allpartied]

If she worked for the last 26 years in the HSE, then she should be on the post 95 ( possibly, the pre 95) pension scheme.
Sounds to me like she is on the post 95 scheme, as her pension is quite low. Under the post 95 scheme she is entitled to a supplementary pension, which would make up the differential between HSE pension and her coordinated pension.
If she was on average earnings for a nurse (55k) and worked full time for the 26 years, her full pension should be approx 17k per annum. Under the terms of the post 95 scheme, she would be entitled to a Supplementary pension, from age 60, with no actuarial reduction.

Its quite complicated, but this thread explains the detail.

What if public sector pension is less than OAP?

Hi, Deiseblue said in another thread Public Sector pensioners do not receive the Old Age contributory pension in ADDITION to their occupational pensions rather the OAP is integrated into their pension. I would like to know, what if the public sector pension is less than the OAP? Consider...

www.askaboutmoney.com

 

[Leyla59]

Thanks for the many answers. To clarify she worked part-time for all of the years in Operating Theatre. She said all she knows is that she is on an old HSE Pension Scheme and she started in October 1995 until present.

 

[Allpartied]

If she job shared, then she will get 1 year of pension , for every two calendar years of service.

Even so, 320 a month is low.

If she had 55k pensionable salary, she should get a pension of around 8-9k per year. 320 per month may be the HSE pension. But she will be entitled to a Supplementary pension to make up the difference. Initially, if she has full class A PRSI, she can get the Jobseekers Benefit ( which is not means tested) for 9 months. Then the supplementary pension will kick in. Then when she gets to state pension age, she can apply for the state pension, which will be added to her original HSE pension ( 320 a month), but she will stop getting the supplementary.

She can work, but if she works and pays PRSI, then she loses the supplementay. This is from the Psychiatric Nurses forum, but explains the entitlement

ENTITLEMENT TO SUPPLEMENTARY PENSION - The PNA - The Psychiatric Nurses Association of Ireland

The Psychiatric Nurses Association PNA is a Professional Association and Trade Union.

www.pna.ie

She should contact the company running her AVC , so that she maximises her tax free lump sum.

 

[Leyla59]

If she job shared, then she will get 1 year of pension , for every two calendar years of service.

Even so, 320 a month is low.

If she had 55k pensionable salary, she should get a pension of around 8-9k per year. 320 per month may be the HSE pension. But she will be entitled to a Supplementary pension to make up the difference. Initially, if she has full class A PRSI, she can get the Jobseekers Benefit ( which is not means tested) for 9 months. Then the supplementary pension will kick in. Then when she gets to state pension age, she can apply for the state pension, which will be added to her original HSE pension ( 320 a month), but she will stop getting the supplementary.

She can work, but if she works and pays PRSI, then she loses the supplementay. This is from the Psychiatric Nurses forum, but explains the entitlement

ENTITLEMENT TO SUPPLEMENTARY PENSION - The PNA - The Psychiatric Nurses Association of Ireland

The Psychiatric Nurses Association PNA is a Professional Association and Trade Union.

www.pna.ie

She should contact the company running her AVC , so that she maximises her tax free lump sum.

Thank you ! She did not job share. She has checked the template issued by the Superannuation Officer for her Estimate of Benefits . At 65 she would receive a Lump Sum of E 23864 and a annual pension of E4064 Pension Factor 8.67%. A Supplementarry Pension may be payable.