Marriage gratuity

S

Stitcher

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Hi,
My sister worked in the civil service for five years before she got married in 1976. She got a marriage gratuity. Does that remove any entitlement to contributory pension?. She moved to Netherlands and worked part time, while married and some full time but is short on years service to get a full pension there. They said Ireland should make up the short fall in years. According to SW, She has no credits for her years worked here. Can she repay the marriage gratuity in Ireland now so as to get credits towards her state pension in Netherlands? SW are not helpful. Where would you go for good advice on this ?
Thanks
 
If she was a Civil Servant then she paid the "modified PRSI" .These contributions don't qualify for a State Contributory Pension.
 
But she would likely have, an entitlement to a small “portion” of the civil service pension.

She should contact HR / Pensions administrator in the department where she worked,
 
fayf said:
But she would likely have, an entitlement to a small “portion” of the civil service pension.

She should contact HR / Pensions administrator in the department where she worked,
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I think any future pension entitlement was extinguised on payment of the marriage gratuity ?

6.
(a)Except as provided in paragraph 2 of this circular, an officer recruited to an established post from a competition advertised after 1 February 1974 will not be eligible for a marriage gratuity.
(b)An officer to whom paragraph 2 applies and who does not resign on marriage or within two years of marriage will not be eligible for, and will forfeit any claim to, a marriage gratuity.
(c)An officer specified at (a) or (b) above, or who does not otherwise fulfil the conditions for the award of a marriage gratuity, may, of course, qualify for preserved superannuation benefits in respect of service which would otherwise have been reckoned towards a marriage gratuity, provided she has at least five years of such service. Details of these benefits will be set out in a comprehensive circular on the revision of the Superannuation Code to be issued in due course.
Preserved superannuation benefits not applicable where marriage gratuity paid .

 
So if you got work again in the civil service you could repay the gratuity, but there is nothing in that document for any other circumstances?
 
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Thanks Early Riser, it's clear in that document she is not entitled to a civil service pension, and no indication that the gratuity can be repaid other than by those returning to service. It does seem unfair that her work record no longer counts, I can understand her not getting a work pension as the gratuity was paid out and I know that prsi contributions have changed a lot since the 1970s. It is not looking promising but My sister will contact her old place of work. She is having difficulty talking to Sligo pensions office as the phone does not go to a person. Ironically, Sligo said she will get 5.20 a week it seems due to three months summer work she did one year before starting in the civil service !
Thanks for all your help.
 
It isn't that her work record "no longer" counts - as Conan mentioned above, a civil servant paying only modified stamps/contributions is not eligible for a Contributory State Pension.

If there is a mix of modified and full stamps/contributions, it may be possible for her to apply for a Pro-Rata State Pension. The amount of pension is based on the full contributions, but the qualifying conditions count both full and modified contributions. More information is available on www.welfare.ie
 
Stitcher said:
Hi,
My sister worked in the civil service for five years before she got married in 1976. ............... According to SW, She has no credits for her years worked here. .............. SW are not helpful.
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Stitcher said:
She is having difficulty talking to Sligo pensions office as the phone does not go to a person. Ironically, Sligo said she will get 5.20 a week it seems due to three months summer work she did one year before starting in the civil service !
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These two don't seem to add up. She obviously has SW credits or they wouldn't have awarded her €5.20. As Conan said above, modified (Class D) credits don't normally count towards the contributory pension. They can help towards what is called a pro-rata contributory pension if the person additionally has full rate (eg, Class A) contributions. However, I am surprised that a three months summer work record combined with 5 years at Class D would qualify her for any pro-rata pension at all. That said, the rules are complex and I am not over familiar with them.
Your sister can request a copy of her contribution record online (she will need to create a MyGovID account) and this might help establish what claim she might have : https://services.mywelfare.ie/en/topics/statements-and-refunds/contribution-statement/

Stitcher said:
It is not looking promising but My sister will contact her old place of work
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No harm in trying, but I would not be at all hopeful that she will be able to repay her marriage gratuity and claim an occupational pension of any amount.
 
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