State Pension

Jerome77

I was speaking with a relative today. He is 80 I was shocled when he said he does not qualify for state pension. He said something about contributions.

He has a few quid in the bank, but surely as a citizen he is entitled to a state pension ? Does anyone know ?

Thanks

Stheno

If he doesn't qualify based on prsi there is the non contributory pension which is means tested so it could be he's too much in the bank to qualify

Jerome77

Thank you, who could I talk to about this ?

Atlantic Dawn

Jerome77 wrote: »

Thank you, who could I talk to about this ?

They would be means tested, bascially if they have €20k or over it cuts in to what they are entitled to, too much and they won't get a cent...

Total means

Your means under the various headings are added together to see what level of pension, if any, you can get. If you are one half of a couple (married couple, civil partners or a cohabiting couple of the same or opposite sex) then your means are taken to be half of the total means of yourself and your spouse, civil partner or cohabitant. Note that you can have savings or assets of up to €20,000 and earnings of up to €200 per week from employment and still qualify for a full State Pension (Non-Contributory).



The first €30 per week of means as assessed by the Department of Social Protection does not affect the rate of pension. After that, the pension is reduced by €2.50 each week for every €2.50 of means.
If you were getting Farm Assist and the different means test that applies to the State Pension (Non-Contributory) results in you getting a lower level of payment, you keep your entitlement to the higher amount.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social_welfare/social_welfare_payments/older_and_retired_people/state_pension_non_contributory.html

Stheno

Jerome77 wrote: »

Thank you, who could I talk to about this ?

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social_welfare/social_welfare_payments/older_and_retired_people/state_pension_non_contributory.html

infogiver

I suppose a more sensitive way of describing a non con pension is this:
If you have worked x amount of years and made y amount of contributions then you can apply for a contributory pension.
Obviously this gentleman doesn't meet the criteria.
The next step then is to apply for a non con pension.
When you apply for a non con pension you are saying to the State, " im retirement age and I need financial help to live from week to week".
So the State will, quite sensibly, ask to see the finer print of your financial situation so that they can decide wether you meet the criteria.
The State "disregards" the first €20000 of your wealth. You can have that to fall back on, your nest egg, for a lot of elderly it's the money to bury them.
But any wealth above that amount will result in a reduced amount of non con pension.
The max non con pension for someone living on they're own is currently €222 per week
Say a person has wealth of €30000, then €10 per week will be deducted from the €222
€40000 then €30 is deducted
For every €1000 above €40000 then €4 is deducted
If your pensioner DID apply and was totally refused a non con then that means he had, at the time, considerable funds and it was decided that he didn't need financial help to live on a week to week basis.
If his circumstances have reduced considerably since then, I would highly advise him to reapply, once again supplying evidence of all his means.
Your local CIC will give you an application form and advise on its completion

Pawwed Rig

I see alot of instances where people miss out on the State pension due to poor planning (and knowledge of the requirement to plan). Affects alot of stay at home parents who needlessly miss out.

salmocab

just as an aside how many weekly contributions need to have been payed or is it an amount?

infogiver

salmocab wrote: »

just as an aside how many weekly contributions need to have been payed or is it an amount?

Right now the basic requirement is 520 contributions (10 years) that's just the first step though
There's a piece of legislation currently before the Dail which proposes that only if you have 30 years of contributions will you get the max con pension.
This is expected to be passed and it will be revolutionary when it is.

Jerome77

Thanks for the posts guys

mp22

Yes posts have been deleted and or edited,if you cant understand why see here http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055070569

mp22

soap1978

if a person was getting the dole all their life,will they get the state pension?

allthedoyles

soap1978 wrote: »

if a person was getting the dole all their life,will they get the state pension?

this person applies for non-contributory state pension and its means tested . See above post from infogiver

Kristopherus

infogiver wrote: »

Right now the basic requirement is 520 contributions (10 years) that's just the first step though
There's a piece of legislation currently before the Dail which proposes that only if you have 30 years of contributions will you get the max con pension.
This is expected to be passed and it will be revolutionary when it is.

And,iirc, you have to start paying those contributions before you reach 55.

Hollister11

soap1978 wrote: »

if a person was getting the dole all their life,will they get the state pension?

What about stay at home parents? There more deserving than people draining state resources all there life

Edups

Hollister11 wrote: »

What about stay at home parents? There more deserving than people draining state resources all there life

If they don't work they don't pay tax so how in the hell are they more deserving just because they didn't take money? Every deserves it as much as the next person that's the country we live in.

Atlantic Dawn

Hollister11 wrote: »

What about stay at home parents? There more deserving than people draining state resources all there life

If they meet the means test they will get the non contributory pension.

Ya you can't punish someone just because they didn't have children.

A lot of people who are on welfare their entire lives have disabilities, mental problems, addictions etc that they cannot control

infogiver

soap1978 wrote: »

if a person was getting the dole all their life,will they get the state pension?

They will be means tested for a non contributory pension the max of which is currently €222 per week

Masala

So a guy who worked all his life in a PAYE job for 30 yrs gets €222. And a guy on the dole for 20!odd years with no major savings gets €222. So no difference only the scheme is called something different. ????

If they both live another 20 yrs... is there still no difference in their weekly pension ????

infogiver

Masala wrote: »

So a guy who worked all his life in a PAYE job for 30 yrs gets €222. And a guy on the dole for 20!odd years with no major savings gets €222. So no difference only the scheme is called something different. ????

If they both live another 20 yrs... is there still no difference in their weekly pension ????

The maximum weekly pension for the person who worked all they're life is €233
A couple on contributory pension will get €442
A couple on non con will get €368