Contributory Irish/UK pensions

[RETIRED2017]

[QUOTE="Early Riser,
There are more loopholes In the prsi system working against the people who funded it all of there life through payroll , public and private sector when it comes to how much you pay in and how much you get out at retirement,

 

[dan rather]

Could you be better off emigrating to work Germany or the Uk if you had worked for 20 years in Ireland but want to maximize your state pension? you could then use discredits toward the foreign pension claim

 

[RETIRED2017]

Could you be better off emigrating to work Germany or the Uk if you had worked for 20 years in Ireland but want to maximize your state pension? you could then use discredits toward the foreign pension claim

Not Germany they have a proper system ,The government in Germany look after the people who worked all of there life they even have a system for looking after people who have paid in for 35 years can retire at 63 if they can no longer do this kind of work because of there age,

In Germany the government keep looking over there shoulder to make sure the people who pay there wages are looked after

When the troika came to town one of the first changed was to lower PRSI A1 in other words it was only the people on PRSIA1 who paid a usc tax up until then,

 

[dan rather]

New plan so, I wonder what about Portugal

 

[RETIRED2017]

New plan so, I wonder what about Portugal

5% tax if you own a property there if you can move there part time 4 years before you retire,

 

[Lisboa]

Thanks for all the replies, I have made voluntary contributions in England to bring up my contributions and it is a relief to know I can claim the contributory pension in the two countries.

That's good; I assume from your original post, you're aiming for both full state pensions?

I'm not judging anyone but I am puzzled. How can someone have worked and contributed enough over the required time in 2 countries to get 2 full pensions?

Well you can continue to pay voluntary contributions after leaving a country, upon meeting certain requirements.

The UK allow you to pay voluntary contributions as long as you had lived / worked there for at least 3 years prior to leaving.

Ireland allow you to opt to pay voluntary contributions but only if you have already paid 520 weekly contributions.

You can have a full UK pension and a 98% Irish providing you have sufficient contributions in both countries.

I haven't heard or read anything about this before; do you have a source for this information? Is the 2% deduction just an Irish tax due to the 'other' source of income?

 

[Ciru75]

Well you can continue to pay voluntary contributions after leaving a country, upon meeting certain requirements.

The UK allow you to pay voluntary contributions as long as you had lived / worked there for at least 3 years prior to leaving.

Ireland allow you to opt to pay voluntary contributions but only if you have already paid 520 weekly contributions.

Can you make PRSI (or equivalent) contributions in two countries at the same time?

 

[delfio]

Can you make PRSI (or equivalent) contributions in two countries at the same time?

Yes, you can work and pay PRSI in Ireland and also pay voluntary national insurance contributions usually 'class two' in the UK that only cost around £130 a year and yes if you pay into the UK system for 35 years you get full UK pension as well as full or nearly fulI, (depending on your prsi record), state pension in Ireland. Class two in the UK was due to be abolished this coming April but they have deferred it for a year, next year it will be the more expensive class three which cost approx £750 a year, still a mighty good deal. No one knows what will happen to expats pension after the brexit. The UK government have given some assurance that it will continue as it is but as things stand nothing is written in stone. They may very well decide to not gaurantee the triple lock increase every year.

PS, please note you must have lived and worked in the UK for three years before you can pay voluntary national insurance contributions from abroad. You also need a minimum of ten years contributions to be eligible for minimum pension, the same as what it is like in Ireland.

 

[Lisboa]

Can you make PRSI (or equivalent) contributions in two countries at the same time?

Just to add to the informative answer provided by delfio; it also depends on which two countries, and specifically the rules from the country in which you wish to opt in to pay the voluntary contributions.

If you come from the UK to Ireland (or any other country), you can opt in to pay UK voluntary contributions (upon meeting the aforementioned 3 year rule) and shouldn't have any problems even if you are paying your compulsory PRSI in Ireland.

But if you went the other way, from Ireland to the UK (or any other country in the EU), then Ireland would likely not accept your voluntary contribution application if you started to work and were paying UK National Insurance.
Of course, the UK is leaving the EU on 29th March 2019, so possibly after this date it would be possible.

I'm interested and curious in reading other people's experiences of paying UK voluntary contributions whilst living in Ireland (or elsewhere), and if they are building towards a future of claiming both the 2 full state pensions.

As for myself, well I'm in my 30's, I've been working in Ireland for just over 10 years, so I've just passed the 520 PRSI contribution mark, which I guess will get me something from Ireland at old age, no matter where in the world I may be. I only have a handful of UK contributions to my name, but I'm on the verge of making a lump sum payment to UK Revenue to purchase a handful of backdated years.

 

[fistophobia]

Stopping work at age 65, then having to sign on... who are these people?
How is it possible, you have worked 40 odd years, and then cant self finance a year or two on your own, WTF?

 

[delfio]

How is it possible, you have worked 40 odd years, and then cant self finance a year or two on your own, WTF?

You don't know people's circumstances, many are on very low wages all their lives, maybe others are helping out adult children etc.

A few days ago, our government had to give a double week fuel allowance as some of our citizens didn't even have a spare €20 to buy an extra bag of coal. I was even surprised at that.

 

[Lisboa]

Stopping work at age 65, then having to sign on... who are these people?
How is it possible, you have worked 40 odd years, and then cant self finance a year or two on your own, WTF?

I suppose that there are a few contracts of employment out there that have written into them a mandatory retirement age of 65.
The government won't pay them their state pension until their 66th birthday, so they either claim unemployment benefit for 12 months, or find another job.