Do I qualify for an Irish pension?

Hi all,

Doubt anyone on here will remember me but I used to post quite a bit back in the day!

I lived and worked in Dublin from 1995-2007 and have 12 full years of contributions. First question - does this qualify for a part pension in Ireland? Second - is it possible to make additional voluntary contributions from EU employment?

Many thanks, Sarah.

Sarah W said:

I lived and worked in Dublin from 1995-2007 and have 12 full years of contributions. First question - does this qualify for a part pension in Ireland?

Click to expand...

The three qualifying conditions for the contributory old age pension are outlined here:

12 full years of full rate contributions should qualify you for 12/40 of the full rate of state pension under the total contributions approach (see outline in the link in above post). There is an alternative average contribution approach to calculation. When you apply for the pension you will be given whichever one gives the more favourable result in your situation.

Unlike as is the case with the UK, NI contributions you are unfortunately expressly forbidden from making voluntary PRSI contributions if you are in socially insured employment in another EU state. If you were self employed and not socially insured, you would be aloowed to make voluntary PRSI contributions in Ireland. There is a 5 year timeframe in which you need to apply to make voluntary payments having ceased socially insured employment. The clock starts ticking on this once you stop working in socially insured employment in the other EU country, not when you ceased being an employee in Ireland. This is the position I am in. I have been making VC1 contributions for a few years now having ceased being employed in Germany and only have earnings from self-employment/rents, which I do not pay social insurance on (because the German state pension is a terrible deal and you hardly ever want to make voluntary contributions to it).

Sarah W said:

Second - is it possible to make additional voluntary contributions from EU employment?

Click to expand...

Where do you live now?

Are you in employment?

Do you ever plan to return to Ireland?

When will you hit 66?

Dr Strangelove said:

Where do you live now?

Are you in employment?

Do you ever plan to return to Ireland?

When will you hit 66?

Click to expand...

I'm 61, so 66 in August 2029.

Currently self employed, I have eight full years of contributions here in Portugal and 17 in the UK up to 1995 (with the option of buying a further 18 years).

I "may" return to Ireland one day, no plans at present though.

Thanks.

If you’re self employed in the EU you can’t make voluntary PRSI contributions in Ireland unfortunately.

Depending on where you settle, you may be better off aggregating IE and PT pension contributions to get a single larger pension in one or other.

Make sure to buy your 18 UK years before 5 April 2025 as the window to buy back more than four years closes then.

Thanks Dr Strangelove, appreciated.

My understanding was that one could pay voluntary PRSI contributions in Ireland if one is self employed elsewhere in the EU as long as one is NOT socially insured, ie making PRSI-like contributions (for the purposes of pension entitlements). In Germany, for example it is not compulsory to pay into all of the social insurance pots if one is self employed (they are not bundled together like in Ireland, so state pension, unemployment insurance, health insurance and old-age care insurance are all separate funds and the pension part and unemployment insurance are optional for non-employees).

Thanks @murphaph1

My knowledge of social insurance law in Portugal is zero so there may be a route to voluntary contribution for the OP.

It's all a bit of a minefield and I also have no idea about the Portuguese social welfare system. OP, it's probably best to clearly state your position in writing to the department when applying to become a voluntary contributor. You cannot even make voluntary contributions to the Portuguese system if you want to make them into the Irish system though, well you can make them but if/when it comes out in the wash you will have donated a vast amount of money to the Irish state as refunds are restricted to the previous 4 years. Absolutely no social insurance (at least for the purposes of claiming pension entitlements) contributions are allowed for anyone living in the EU. I outlined my situation in writing as I was leaving employment in Germany after ca. 15 years as an employee here and 14 before that in Ireland and the department accepted me as a member based on that information.

What you mean here I think is:

murphaph1 said:

Absolutely no voluntary social insurance (at least for the purposes of claiming pension entitlements) contributions are allowed for anyone living in the EU if already making making paid (compulsory) contributions that will generate a pension entitlement in another EU member state

Click to expand...

Correct me if I’m wrong

For the sake of completness, I think it should probably read:

Absolutely no voluntary social insurance (at least for the purposes of claiming pension entitlements) contributions are allowed for anyone living in the EU if already making making paid (compulsory or voluntary) contributions that will generate a pension entitlement in another EU member state

Click to expand...

In more simple terms, you can't make voluntary PRSI contributions in Ireland if you are making them elsewhere in the EU (in respect of pension contributions - you can pay health, unemployment insurance etc.)

I think my priority for now has to be buying back those 18 NIC in the UK and then figuring out if I can (of if I need to) make AVC's in Ireland or Portugal. If I stay here the combined pensions should give me a reasonable income. As long as I don't buy any more horses

To add a wrinkle to the pot (?) I have two small PRSA's, one with Aviva and one with Zurich with a combined value of €24,500. As I'm no longer tax resident in Ireland how are these taxed? Here in Portugal or in Ireland? Thanks.