Redundant but starting new job - any reason to sign on?

I

ixtlan

Registered User
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57
Hi all,

I just finished work on Friday after 14 years. Compared with many people at the moment I have been very fortunate. I have a good redundancy payment, and I have a new job (waiting on contract) which should start in 2-3 weeks.

Due to the payout size, I understand I will not receive any money from JB for several weeks, certainly after I would start working again.

Is there any benefit to signing on this week? I know it allows me to maintain PRSI contributions, but I'm unclear about whether there are any circumstances where that lost 3 weeks could have any effect in the future.

Ix.
 
I think that when it comes to claiming old age pension they divide the number of contributions by the number of years.
You would have to be very unlucky for the 3 weeks to make a difference.
 
As far as I know you are still entitled to job seekers benefit for the 2-3 weeks and as it is not means tested your payment does not affect the payment
 
Mammyto2 said:
As far as I know you are still entitled to job seekers benefit for the 2-3 weeks and as it is not means tested your payment does not affect the payment
Click to expand...

Actually although it's not means tested the redundancy payment can result in a delay in receiving any money. Therefore I expect I will not be entitled to anything. My concern is more for the PRSI contributions which it seems might have some effect on future benefits. It seems really really unlikely they would have any effect, but if there's a small chance then maybe I'll sign on.

Ix.
 
I found this on the www.welfare.ie website:

Disqualifications for up to 9 weeks:

A person may be disqualified from receipt of JB in certain circumstances. Any period during which a person is disqualified is counted as part of the continuous period of unemployment -
* see information on cumulative total below.
A person who would otherwise be entitled to payment may be disqualified for receiving JB for such period as may be determined by a Deciding Officer, but in any case not exceeding 9 weeks, for any of the following reasons:
  • If under the age of 55 and made redundant, the person has received a lump-sum redundancy payment in excess of a specified amount.
So you are correct in thinking that you would not receive payment for the few weeks before you start your new job. The only advantage to signing on for JB is that you would have a complete record of contributions for the year - by not signing on, those 3 weeks would be missing. That being said, as another poster has already stated, it won't mean a great deal when it comes to calculating your pension if you have an otherwise full employment record.
 
The calculation for the state pension is very very complicated.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/c...nts/older-and-retired-people/oap_contributory

This appears to suggest that I might have a problem because I started working as a student in 1989 (and made my first contributions then). Because I didn't get a full-time job until 1993, my average is significantly reduced. Even so, if I worked continuously until retirement I probably would have 48 weeks average (to get a maximum pension). However if I had another period of unemployment, I might be at risk.

This seems crazy, so maybe I'm missing something? Why would I possibly be penalised for working as a student, and then missing some years... compared to someone who never worked until finishing college (and whose average would be higher although they would have made fewer contributions)?

Ix.
 
For pension purposes your PRSI contributions, from the first day you started work till the end of the tax year prior to your 65th birthday are totaled and then divided by the total number of years to 65th birthday to get a yearly average.
If the yearly average is 48 you are entitled (under current regulations) to a full pension. If your yearly average is between 24 and 48 you are entitled to a 98% pension.
As we are all facing a very uncertain future there's always the possibility that those 3 or so credits could be useful so I would sign for credits during your break.
Good luck in the new job!!
 
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