Contributory Pension

I am a pre’95 teacher. Retired in December 2022.I was on Class D PRSI.I am receiving a small Annuity AVC pension. Don’t have an ARF to buy PRSI cons.
I cared for my father until his death in August 2024.Received Carer’s Benefit. Paid class M cons for that.
I subbed for approx 10 years before I joined the teacher’s pension scheme. Those were not ‘full’ years , due to Summer holidays etc.
I built up 488 reckonable contributions and 536 reckons able and credited contributions.
Don’t know the difference between both!!!!
I am now 64 years and will be 65 in August 2025.
Am receiving 2100 e supplementary pension per year as part of my teacher’s pension. I realise that I lose this part of pension for any day that I work.
My question is how can I increase my Class A cons so that I can increase my chances of receiving a COAP when I reach 66?
My husband has Limited Co I am a Director of that company along with my husband. If he pays me 38e a week, am I building up stamps? The company would be paying me as opposed to my husband, but does it still matter that we’re husband and wife?
If he pays me even for one day or if I sub for a day , does that mean that I can then pay class A stamps and get portion of COAP when I’m 66? Would I lose supplementary pension if I pay voluntary contributions?
Any advice would be much appreciated.

@Norrie500

I am presuming from what you have said that you did not get 1 Class A contribution or sign on for Jobseekers credits when you retired from PS employment.

Is this correct ?

You currently seem to have 488 reckonable paid contributions and 48 reckonable credits.

You have enough Reckonable paid contributions to get a pro rata pension.

If you manage to get an extra 32 Reckonable paid contributions you will qualify for a better pension.

You will be able to get these if get a Class A contribution from employment and then make voluntary contributions.

I am unsure if employment by your husband would allow you to get a class A contribution.

Could your husband get a business colleague to employ you for 3 hours at basic wage in order to definitely gain 1 class A contribution ?

I don't think that paying voluntary Prsi would cause a reduction in your supplementary pension because you would not be in employment or earning anything.

You could make voluntary contributions back to the date you ceased class D employment. This would increase your Reckonable Prsi level.

After you get your class A contribution you could sign on for Jobseekers credits until age 66.

It seems that you might qualify for class A contributions
as an employee, because your husband's business is a limited company.


Limited Companies and
partnerships

If the business is a Limited Company or partnership it
is a separate legal entity. Employment in such a
business is not ‘Family Employment’. This is because
the employment relationship is with the Limited
Company or partnership rather than the individual
family member who owns or runs it.

Thank you S Class for your reply. I did not sign on for JS as I automatically received Supplementary Pension after I retired.
It would be great if I could pay voluntary contributions. It wouldn’t be impossible to get one A class contribution , which apparently would change my status from D to A class.
Is that the only condition I would now need to adhere to so that voluntary contributions can be paid ?

Yes. The voluntary contributions will be based on your last paid contribution which will be class A.

These voluntary contributions will be reckonable for the contributory pension.

You might be to late to get change of status credits.
You might have needed a class A contribution in 2023 to achieve these
I don't know how these are applied.

You should contact DSP to check if you would get any change of status credits.

If it turns out that you don't qualify for change of status credits, you can make backdated voluntary contributions to cover the gap in your contributions in 2023 and 2024. Your class M will not prevent you from making voluntary contributions.

Try signing on for Jobseekers credits from immediately after your class A employment up to your 66th birthday.

You can be a Jobseeker and still get your supplementary pension.

Being a director probably isn't considered as being employed so should not prevent you claiming Jobseekers credits. These are free so preferable to paying for voluntary contributions for 2025 and 2026.

If it turns out that you are rejected as a Jobseeker you could then make voluntary contributions for 2025 and 2026.


Whatever way this eventually works out for you, be certain to have at least one year of voluntary contributions included to make sure you reach the 520 paid contributions level.


You could alternatively, work for your husband. One hour paid at 38 euro would be all that you would need per week to get a weekly class A contribution.

Would working for 1 hour reduce your supplementary pension by 1 hour or 1 day per week ?


Happy new year !

All of that is very valuable information for me . I appreciate it and I hope that you have a happy new year!

Since I last posted, I have started to work one day per week and am earning more than 60e, so am receiving an A stamp every week. I started work on the 2nd week of January and intend to have 51 credits built up by Dec’25.
However, I’ve asked DSP if I can pay voluntary contributions for the past two years and unfortunately I cannot as I was paying a D stamp until I retired in December’22.
I received an M contribution while I received carer’s Benifit from Dec 22 until August’24, but I assume that this doesn’t count for COAP.
I have 2 questions and would appreciate if somebody could answer them!!
1.I will be 66 years in August ‘26. At the end of Dec ‘25, I hope to have 604 contributions made . These will include more than 520 paid contributions. What will my pension be if I apply for it in August ‘26?
2. Would it benefit me if I defer drawing down my COAP until January 1’27? Or would the changes governing COAP calculations from 2025 be almost to my detriment?
I started work at end of September’82 , so am aware that waiting an extra year might literally work against me.( I am including 17 pre- entry credits in my 604 contributions)
Would appreciate guidance!!
Am not including credits that I will receive in 2026 …

You ceased being a class D employee in December 22. I would have thought that you could fill in the gap for 2023 and 2024 with voluntary contributions when you presumably have no reckonable Prsi contributions.

The wording for change of status credits is that when you pay a class A contribution you get change of status credits for that year and the previous year. So maybe you have change of status credits for 2024.

You won't know for sure what you have until you apply for the COAP. All the available credits are then indicated in the pension calculation.

You should apply for the COAP to start at age 66.
You will have yearly average 10+ at that stage. (possibly average 14.5+)

Your pension will be calculated as 80% YA. + 20% TC.

Check the total reckonable contributions when you get your pension calculation statement near your 66th birthday.
There could be some change of status and pre entry credits included.

Using this information you can then calculate if it is worthwhile deferring. If you can manage to get to average 14.5 it could be advantageous to defer to 2027 or beyond.

My advice would be to apply for payment of your COAP into your local post office. You are allowed to cancel your pension provided you have not taken any payments from it. If it turns out that deferral is worthwhile you then cancel and reapply at a future date.

When you get the exact calculation figures post them here and I could then help you calculate if deferral is advantageous.

Include @S class so I will get a notification.

There is information on calculating pensions after age 66 here.


PS If your pension at age 66 reaches average 14.5 or greater, begin your pension then.

Thank you SClass.Great advice and appreciate your help

SClass will surely be able to help , as I’m sure many other could also!!!!
Just wondering , as I’ve started paying PRSI in 1982( for the first time), do I count 44 or 45 years for the YA section of my Contributary pension?I will turn 66 in August 2026,so 2025 will be the last complete tax year.
Also, my contribution statement states 29 September 1982 as the date of commencement. Do pre paid contributions automatically appear on my statement, or are they always added when you apply for COAP?
If they are not apparent on statement, do you count back to April 6 as opposed to January 1 of that year , as tax year began in April back then ….
It’s so complicated!!!!!

1982 to 2025 inclusive.
So 2025 -1982 + 1 = 44

Pre entry credits don't appear in your Prsi statements.
But they will appear and will be counted in your COAP pension award calculation.

I don't know if pre entry credits go back to April 6th or 1st January of your starting year.

The best strategy would be to apply for your COAP at age 66.
Opt for payment at your local post office.
You can reject your COAP provided you do not collect any payments.

When you receive your award calculation you will know exactly how many reckonable Prsi contributions have been counted.

You could then work out if it would be beneficial to defer to gain a better pension payment at a later date, or to accept your COAP.

If you are unsure how to calculate all the possible future pensions, you could post back here and I could check it out for you.

Thank you so much. Your advice/ information is very helpful and much appreciated!

I guess it would start from April 6th 1982, the year in which you started work...

"Pre-entry credits can also help you qualify for the https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social-welfare/social-welfare-payments/older-and-retired-people/state-pension-contributory/ (State Pension (Contributory)). However, the credits will only cover you from the beginning of the tax year in which you start to work up to the actual date you start work."


The tax year changed to January in 2002

Thank you Redstar