Old age pension

jester77

How does one qualify for the old age pension in Ireland?

If someone who was born in Ireland worked for a number of years in Ireland and contributed to the pension during this time before emigrating, would they be entitled to an Irish pension (or even part of) once they reach retirement age?

coylemj

The age at which you might qualify is changing over the next few years as are the rules about how you qualify based on contributions.

On the age qualifier I can tell you that if you were born before 1955 you can get the OAP at age 66, if you were born in or after 1955 and before 1961 the age will be 67 and for anyone born in or after 1961 it will be 68.

To answer the other part of the question please take a look here....

http://www.welfare.ie/EN/Schemes/Pension/Pages/spc.aspx

If you'd prefer someone here to give you the answer then please state....

1. When did you start contributing - year and month?

2. What class of employment were you in, specifically were you a full-time employee in the private sector paying full PRSI?

3. How many years contributions did you make?

jester77

coylemj wrote: »

The age at which you might qualify is changing over the next few years as are the rules about how you qualify based on contributions.

On the age qualifier I can tell you that if you were born before 1955 you can get the OAP at age 66, if you were born in or after 1955 and before 1961 the age will be 67 and for anyone born in or after 1961 it will be 68.

To answer the other part of the question please take a look here....

http://www.welfare.ie/EN/Schemes/Pension/Pages/spc.aspx

If you'd prefer someone here to give you the answer then please state....

1. When did you start contributing - year and month?

2. What class of employment were you in, specifically were you a full-time employee in the private sector paying full PRSI?

3. How many years contributions did you make?

Cheers, exactly what I was looking for. Get's a bit complicated in parts. If you qualify for a pension after 2012, this means you will have to have paid 10 years of contributions to qualify. Further on, it states that you can combine social insurance contributions from abroad towards so that you can qualify.

What happens to someone who falls short on the 10 years to qualify, but has been paying contributions in one of the qualifying states under EU regulations, would they be entitled to pensions from both countries if they combined part of their foreign pension to make up for the short fall?

coylemj

jester77 wrote: »

What happens to someone who falls short on the 10 years to qualify, but has been paying contributions in one of the qualifying states under EU regulations, would they be entitled to pensions from both countries if they combined part of their foreign pension to make up for the short fall?

There's contact details at the bottom of that webpage, give them a bell or write them a letter with all of your details.

On the face of it you would not qualify for an Irish pension with less than 10 years contributions but there's no harm in asking.

jcro

Hi jester77 . I realise its 3 years ago but how did you get on with contacting the pension people.Im in a similar situation and couldnt get an answer from the pensions folks as to wheather my foreign work payments would qualify me for a contributory old age pension or not. I have 6years and 9 mts in ireland and 23 years 8mts in an eu country.

reg. John.

ardmacha

jcro wrote: »

Hi jester77 . I realise its 3 years ago but how did you get on with contacting the pension people.Im in a similar situation and couldnt get an answer from the pensions folks as to wheather my foreign work payments would qualify me for a contributory old age pension or not. I have 6years and 9 mts in ireland and 23 years 8mts in an eu country.

reg. John.

In this case would you not qualify for a pension in the EU country with some additional allowance for your Irish contributions?

jcro

ardmacha wrote: »

In this case would you not qualify for a pension in the EU country with some additional allowance for your Irish contributions?

My understanding is the calculation is done by the host country ie irl.When i called donegal I was told I wouldnt qualify for a contributory oap because i didnt have 10 years done here.Icant believe it. The country I worked in gives 2% per year worked there but the final amount is determined by Ireland.

murphaph

Yeah the pensions are paid out by each state individually based on your contribution record in each state, though the state you reside in is the one you apply to and they are obliged to deal with the foreign pensions agencies and get your entitlement from them.

If the pension contributions aren't enough to qualify for a pension from a particular state then the only thing they seem to be good for is allowing you to overcome the minimum contributions period.

Eg...John works for 3 years in Ireland then moves to Germany. Germany says you have to contribute for 5 years to be entitled to a state pension, but John is entitled to one after 2 years in Germany as the Irish contribution period counts towards the 5 years, but the contributions themselves basically go in the bin as Ireland says you have to contribute for 10 years to be entitled to a partial pension.

It's one of the areas that needs the most attention and is a genuine stumbling block to labour mobility in Europe. I "timed" it well...worked 11 years in Ireland in the correct PRSI category (PRSI contributions before age 16 are disregarded for the pension!) before moving to Germany so I will qualify for a partial Irish state pension and a German state pension as well, though what either will actually be is anyone's guess at this stage and they do not form a major part of my retirement plan!

The Irish system is in fact quite unfair (though it will change in the coming years) as it favours "late entrants" to the (Irish) workforce. Under the current system it is perfectly possible to move to Ireland in your fifties and retire with a full state pension, whereas someone who works for many more years but then leaves Ireland can end up with only a partial pension, because the period from when you first worked in Ireland to your retirement date is used in the calculation. As I said however, this is changing (at last) to remove this inequality.

jcro

Thanks so much for that explaination.
I contacted waterford and I was told I cant buy volcons to bring me up to 10 years. What next. .

murphaph

jcro wrote: »

Thanks so much for that explaination.
I contacted waterford and I was told I cant buy volcons to bring me up to 10 years. What next. .

I don't think there is a next. Ireland doesn't allow you to maintain voluntary contributions from abroad and "buying back years" is something I've only ever heard public servants talking about (think older public servants could do this), at least not when you are socially insured in another EU state. The UK does allow continued voluntary contributions in these circumstances. I think you're just SOL, sorry

jcro

murphaph wrote: »

I don't think there is a next. Ireland doesn't allow you to maintain voluntary contributions from abroad and "buying back years" is something I've only ever heard public servants talking about (think older public servants could do this), at least not when you are socially insured in another EU state. The UK does allow continued voluntary contributions in these circumstances. I think you're just SOL, sorry

I found an eu website for eu citizens like myself which is very informative and contradicts what the authorities told me here. Afraid cant post the link because im a novice here.But they do have a contact link to complain if your country does'nt step up to the plate.

john.
tha nks for your help again murphaph