Gap in PRSI contributions. Worked unpaid at a startup

[PatrickG]

Hello,
Seeking advice on PRSI contributions.
I was involved, unpaid co-founder, in a startup for 6 months in 2021 and 12 months 2022.
I was paid for 3 of the later months in 2022.

It was a startup and it’s not uncommon for people to go unpaid to try to get it going.
I’ve lived off my savings and did not think to apply for job seekers.


Unfortunately I realised too late that this affects my PRSI contributions.
There is a gap for those months in my PRSI contributions record.
Which could affect my public pension.

Does anyone know if there is any allowance for this situation?
You are trying to get a company going, not on the dole but unpaid.

Can PRSI contributions be applied retrospectively for this missing months?

Any advice appreciated
Patrick

 

[ClubMan]

First thing to ascertain is (a) how many contributions are you missing (c. 12 weeks?) and (b) is it actually going to be significant in terms of your qualification for the full pension? What does your PRSI contribution statement say?

Statements and Refunds

<p>Make a repayment, or apply for a payment statement, contribution statement or PRSI refund</p>

services.mywelfare.ie

 

[S class]

You could pay backdated voluntary contributions to fill in the gaps.

This could be expensive as it would cost 6.6% of your earnings for the year before the year you are paying the voluntary contributions for.

As stated above, are these missing contributions critical.
Could you achieve a total of 2080 contributions without filling in the gaps ?

 

[ClubMan]

(a) how many contributions are you missing (c. 12 weeks?)

Oh, I misread it. I presume that this means more like 15 months of missing contributions?

I was involved, unpaid co-founder, in a startup for 6 months in 2021 and 12 months 2022.
I was paid for 3 of the later months in 2022.

Anyway, check your statement (upload it here if necessary with any personal info redacted) to see if/how this might impact your overall situation.