Pension help?

semipermanent

Don't really have a clue how to go about this. I have a friend who has unfortunately taken ill and had to go back to slovakia. She has officially been off sick from work over a year. Unfortunately she does not have long to live and cannot come back to Ireland to organise a pension payout for her family to receive.

Does anyone know how I could help her husband to sort out getting her pension paid out? She worked in Ireland and paid taxes for over 5 years. What documentation is required and which organisation do I approach?

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

Wowbagger

Hi Semi,

Sory to hear about your friend, you should give the Pensions Office in Sligo a ring, they shoud be abe to give you the information you need.

W

coylemj

semipermanent wrote: »

Does anyone know how I could help her husband to sort out getting her pension paid out? She worked in Ireland and paid taxes for over 5 years. What documentation is required and which organisation do I approach?

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

Two possibilities here:

1. Private pension.

If she paid additional voluntary contributions (AVCs) on top of her company pension then I believe the revenue can allow the employer to release the AVC cash if a person is terminally ill.

A company pension scheme is based on a person surviving to pension age, there is no benefit payable if a person dies before reaching this age, that is factored into the actuarial calculations so the only money she can expect to get back are AVC contributions, subject to approval from the Revenue.

2. State pension

If you die before reaching the age for the State old age pension (currently 66), there is no benefit payable. The benefits you are paying for in social contributions include sickness benefit i.e. non-means tested disability payment if you cannot work, and the old age pension when you reach 66 but if you die before you reach 66 there is no refund of contributions.

semipermanent

Do you mean that I am paying vast quantities of cash into a fund that will never be paid out to my children if I die! That's disgraceful!
I can't believe it!

Anyway, my friend's husband needs to get P60's for the Slovakian social welfare. Who would I have to ask to get reprints of that? Is there a way of doing that without going to her employer?

coylemj

semipermanent wrote: »

Do you mean that I am paying vast quantities of cash into a fund that will never be paid out to my children if I die! That's disgraceful!
I can't believe it!

It's not disgraceful, it's how the system works everywhere. A small number of people in the pool will die of disease or accidents before reaching pension age, that is taken into account by the actuaries when they calculate the benefits. If those people are single with no dependants then their benefits die with them.

Believe it.

semipermanent wrote: »

Anyway, my friend's husband needs to get P60's for the Slovakian social welfare. Who would I have to ask to get reprints of that? Is there a way of doing that without going to her employer?

Get her PPS (formerly PRSI) number, it's seven numbers followed by a letter, then ring the Revenue Commissioners and explain the situation.

semipermanent

Would they realistically give it to me? Are there not confidentiality issues? Anyway, thanks for the info, I will give it a try.

FernandoTorres

Coylemj your advice is correct if it's a defined benefit scheme but even with that most DB schemes will have a spouses/dependants benefit payable if the first life dies. Also most companies have death in service plans so if she was still an employee when she went out sick then if she dies her estate will be eligible for a payout.

If it's a defined contribution scheme then depending on the scheme rules the member would more than likely be able to take her entire fund as taxable cash given that she is terminally ill. OP the best thing to do is to contact her employers HR department. If they don't know themselves then they will usually have pension advisors who can tell the husband exactly what to do. They will also have copies of her P60s.

coylemj

OP.....

1. is your friend still an employee of the company?

2. is there a company pension scheme and is she a member of the scheme?

3. does the company have death in service benefits?

4. does she have any children?

You asked if it was possible to get a P60 without going near the employer, is there a particular reason for this approach? You normally ask your employer for a P60, not the tax people.

semipermanent

Yes, she is a member of the company. HSE
Yes, the HSE has a compulsory pension fund.
I'm not sure about death in service fund?? There are no children involved.
The reason why I don't want to go through HR is because her husband has been in contact with them and they say due to confidentiality issues they cannot issue any information to anyone but herself.

They have said that she is required to come over to Ireland and be assessed by occupational health. This is obviously not possible as she is now bed bound, has lost her sight and hearing amongst other things.

So if I can get P60's elsewhere her husband can then have the Slovakian welfare system assess her case for state pension qualification based on her eu tax records. They will also then be able to see if she qualifies for carers etc on the welfare system there.

HR however probably don't realise the extent of her illness and won't go on hearsay. I think this is ridiculous though because she is not able physically to speak and will obviously not be contacting them personally, so it seems like a no win situation as her husband seems to have no rights to her records.

I will find out if HSE has DB scheme, they probably do.

FernandoTorres

I've never come across a situation like this before and it's a very difficult one. I suppose I can see where the HSE are coming from in not giving out data willy nilly but there must be some way around it. They may accept a letter signed by her to release any information needed.

Alternatively you or her husband could be granted power of attorney: http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/death/before_a_death/power_of_attorney.html

semipermanent

It is a bit of a difficult one alright, as I am merely a coworker. Unfortunately she is not really conscious enough to sign any letters so perhaps power of attourney will be her husbands only choice. Thanks for the great advice all.

Kristopherus

If, as you say, she worked for the HSE, then she will/would qualify for a Public Service Pension, which is a Defined Benefit pension.There is also provision for a payout in the event of serious illness or death in service.It is very likely that the local HSE Area salaries office will have most, if not all, the documentation she will need. However, it is most likely that they will not release any information to you. They may take the attitude that they will only deal with direct family. OP if you pm the location where she worked,and her occupation to me, I will be able to point you in the right direction.

semipermanent

Well, it's been a few weeks now, but sadly my friend has passed away. Does anyone know what entitlements there are for spouses on the death of an HSE worker and how to go about getting them?

I suppose a lot of the procedure would be the same as what it would have been trying to organise social care services but any additional help would be appreciated.

broker2008

This might give you an indication.

http://www.hse.ie/eng/staff/Benefits_Services/Pension_Management/Current_Employees'_Pension_Scheme_Members/#Death In Service

The spouse could send a letter to the HR department of the HSE to notify them of his wifes death and enclose an original death certificate or certified copy and ask for the entitlements that are due to the estate. The executor of the estate or solicitor acting on the executor's behalf could also do the same.

I would imagine there would be a dedicated member of HR that would deal with all deaths in service within the HSE.

You should be able to ring your own HR partner/staff member to simply ask what the process is and then forward this onto Slovakia.

semipermanent

Thanks for that.