2 pension contributions short of qualifying for state pension ...options for overseas person

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Thywillbedone

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Good morning,
I have 518 pension contributions on my record (498 reckonable pension contributions and 20 reckonable credited contributions). I am keen to ensure that I meet the minimum number of contributions so that I qualify for basic state pension when I reach retirement age - I understand the number is 520. I live and am tax resident in the UK. What is the easiest way to top up my contributions?

• It has been more than 5 years since my last PRSI contribution (having living overseas since 2007) so I don't believe I can make voluntary contributions

Thank you.
 
Perhaps you could take a two-week holiday in Ireland and spend some of it working.

Reach out to friends or family to see if someone has a small amount of work. You only have to earn €38 per week and they will pay employers PRSI which will get you pensionable credits for each week. Perhaps as little as two half days of work would be enough once they are in separate PRSI weeks.

I’m completely serious here.
 
Dr Strangelove said:
Perhaps you could take a two-week holiday in Ireland and spend some of it working.

Reach out to friends or family to see if someone has a small amount of work. You only have to earn €38 per week and they will pay employers PRSI which will get you pensionable credits for each week. Perhaps as little as two half days of work would be enough once they are in separate PRSI weeks.

I’m completely serious here.
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If get even one prsi stamp even half a day's work as long as wage is over 38 euro for that week. It would open up voluntary contributions again for you after this. Should like working hoilday or remote work is the ways to go
 
S class said:
You could also be employed by an Irish resident employer to do some remote work.
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Are you sure this would work? None of the listed exceptions to the general rule below would seem to apply in this case.

www.ey.com

Cross-border remote working - Employment law and tax considerations

The art of the possible for remote working arrangements is a permanent fixture of working life for many people today.
www.ey.com www.ey.com


Social security

In general, social security is payable in the State in which the employee works. There are, however, exceptions to this rule. Where an employee from Ireland is posted aboard for a temporary period, it may be possible to retain the employee on the Irish social security system for that period if Ireland has a social security agreement with the host country and the appropriate application is made with the Department of Social Protection. Where approved, PRSI contributions will be payable in Ireland and social security will not be payable in the other State.

If there is no social security agreement between Ireland and the other country, the employee will be compulsorily retained on the Irish social security system for the first 52 weeks following the employee’s departure. Social security may also be due in the host location on the same income.

There are also rules for multi-state workers within the EU and the UK. If an employee regularly works in more than one country during the year, there are rules to help determine in which State the contributions are due. Generally, provided 25% of working time is in the State in which the employee is habitually resident, the employee should pay social security in that State.

Overseas employer social security rates can be significantly higher than the current rate of 11.05% in Ireland. If social security becomes payable in an overseas country this can give rise to a significant additional cost to the employer.
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Dr Strangelove said:
Perhaps you could take a two-week holiday in Ireland and spend some of it working.

Reach out to friends or family to see if someone has a small amount of work. You only have to earn €38 per week and they will pay employers PRSI which will get you pensionable credits for each week. Perhaps as little as two half days of work would be enough once they are in separate PRSI weeks.

I’m completely serious here.
Click to expand...

Hi. Yes, been thinking about this possibility. A friend has his own company (he is a consultant so it's just him) but I don't want to cause a substantial admin burden on him for this purpose. Would it be a real pain for his accountant to manage this?
 
You could also do some research into temping agencies who provide staff for events - not Electric Picnic, but things like the Dublin Theatre Festival, Literary Festivals etc. An event might only last a couple of days and those agencies are well versed in on and offboarding staff. Don't know of any offhand but I am sure you should be able to find information online. You might find something that suits your interests as well as satisfying the PRSI contributions that you need.
 
Thywillbedone said:
A friend has his own company (he is a consultant so it's just him) but I don't want to cause a substantial admin burden on him for this purpose. Would it be a real pain for his accountant to manage this?
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It will be both a substantial admin burden on the businessman and a real pain for his accountant unless the arrangement represents bona fide employment and work.
 
An Irish resident family member or friend could register as an employer and employ you to do some household work for them. For example you could do a few hours of gardening when you are in Ireland for holidays.

Registering as an employer is straightforward. There is information on Revenue.ie on how to register and information on employing people.

There would be no extra tax issues for the employer as they are not making a profit from the employment.
 
Thywillbedone said:
Hi. Yes, been thinking about this possibility. A friend has his own company (he is a consultant so it's just him) but I don't want to cause a substantial admin burden on him for this purpose. Would it be a real pain for his accountant to manage this?
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No- not at all. It is very easy to set up. Once the employer has your data like PPSN and bank account details and has gotten an RPN number from revenue, everything is a smooth run. It is all on automatic after the set up.
 
@Thywillbedone It may be a long shot, but were you by any chance registered/working in the 1978/79 year ? This was a "long year" for contributions and it is possible to have up to 66 contributions for that "year", rather than the usual 52 max for all subsequent years. Unfortunately, the department's system doesn't ordinarily record this and it has to be adjusted manually, usually when a pension claim is submitted.

Other than that, as others suggested you will need a "job" that gets you contributions to make up the gap. Any accountant who looks after sole traders/consultants/small businesses will be able to administer the payroll and tax/PRSI aspect of this with their eyes closed.
 
Freelance said:
@Thywillbedone It may be a long shot, but were you by any chance registered/working in the 1978/79 year ? This was a "long year" for contributions and it is possible to have up to 66 contributions for that "year", rather than the usual 52 max for all subsequent years.
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Not sure if it matters in this context but the short tax "year" of April-December 2001 before the alignment of the tax and calendar years from 2002 onwards allowed for 52 contributions for 9 months.

S.I. No. 654/2001 - Social Welfare (Transitional Arrangements) (Alignment of Income Tax Year With Calendar Year) Regulations, 2001

The electronic Irish Statute Book (eISB) comprises the Acts of the Oireachtas (Parliament), Statutory Instruments, Legislation Directory, Constitution and a limited number of pre-1922 Acts.
www.irishstatutebook.ie
 
Freelance said:
@Thywillbedone It may be a long shot, but were you by any chance registered/working in the 1978/79 year ? This was a "long year" for contributions and it is possible to have up to 66 contributions for that "year", rather than the usual 52 max for all subsequent years. Unfortunately, the department's system doesn't ordinarily record this and it has to be adjusted manually, usually when a pension claim is submitted.

Other than that, as others suggested you will need a "job" that gets you contributions to make up the gap. Any accountant who looks after sole traders/consultants/small businesses will be able to administer the payroll and tax/PRSI aspect of this with their eyes closed.
Click to expand...

No, wasn't working that far back. But I have submitted a query to the Pension Contributions team regarding summer and weekend work that I did when I was 14 - 17 (ah, the good old days of cheap child labour!). I worked at a car dealership / shop so would be on their records and would not be difficult to verify. But there are no entries for those years on my record. Anyone have any luck getting juvenile credits added back on?
 
Thywillbedone said:
No, wasn't working that far back. But I have submitted a query to the Pension Contributions team regarding summer and weekend work that I did when I was 14 - 17 (ah, the good old days of cheap child labour!).
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I have a few PRSI contributions from when I was under 16 but they are class M and are not reckonable for pension purposes. So I don't think that any contributions that you have below 16 will help?

PRSI Class M Rates

www.gov.ie www.gov.ie
 
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