PRSI Contributions & Treatment Benefit Scheme

AAAAAAAAA

Hey, trying to get my head around the whole treatment benefit scheme and not really seeing how anyone can really be eligible when they turn 25 unless they have been working the entire time since about 17.

You only need 39 full time adult contributions when you are 24, but they're only counted from two calendar years before (so 2016 in 2018).

However, you suddenly need 260 contributions the day you turn 25, again only counting from two years before and further, meaning you have to have been in full time employment from 17 to continue elegibility.

Am I understanding this correctly? Is this not an absolutely ludicrous step?

Turnipman

AAAAAAAAA wrote: »

You only need 39 full time adult contributions when you are 24, but they're only counted from two calendar years before (so 2016 in 2018).

Partially correct, in fact there are two conditions - the one you quote above,
OR
26 paid contributions in each of the second and third last contribution years. (For claims made in 2018, the second last contribution year is 2016 and the third last contribution year is 2015.)
[/B]

AAAAAAAAA wrote: »

However, you need 260 paid contributions the day you turn 25

Correct. And you must also meet one or other of the two conditions that apply to the 21- 24 year cohort.

AAAAAAAAA wrote: »

....meaning you have to have been in full time employment from 17 to continue eligibility. Am I understanding this correctly?

Not really! If you've been in full time employment since age 17, then by age 25 you'd have accumulated 416 paid PRSI credits, not 260!

The eligibility conditions stipulate is that any applicant aged 25 or over must have worked for 5 full years (260 weeks) to be eligible for the scheme.

That probably seems a bit unfair on third level graduates who could only have commenced paid employment in their early 20's, so can't accumulate 5 years' PRSI until their late 20's, but seeing as they would have benefited from free third level fees, they got taxpayers' money another way!

AAAAAAAAA

Turnipman wrote: »

Not really! If you've been in full time employment since age 17, then by age 25 you'd have accumulated 416 paid PRSI credits, not 260!

Ah, I understood the credits to be counted up to the "governing year", so essentially -104 on present count.

Turnipman wrote: »

The eligibility conditions stipulate is that any applicant aged 25 or over must have worked for 5 full years (260 weeks) to be eligible for the scheme.

That probably seems a bit unfair on third level graduates who could only have commenced paid employment in their early 20's, so can't accumulate 5 years' PRSI until their late 20's, but seeing as they would have benefited from free third level fees, they got taxpayers' money another way!

Honestly it seems like a pretty significant eligibility gap. Currently I have about 100 credits since graduation (with an additional few from prior summer work), aged 24, but only have 20 out of the required 39 in the "governing year" of 2016 due to finishing college in June and spending 2 months finding a job. By the end of the year I'll be 25, and despite having the full 52 contributions in 2017, will be ineligible until 2021.

Turnipman

AAAAAAAAA wrote: »

Ah, I understood the credits to be counted up to the "governing year", so essentially -104 on present count.



Honestly it seems like a pretty significant eligibility gap. Currently I have about 100 credits since graduation (with an additional few from prior summer work), aged 24, but only have 20 out of the required 39 in the "governing year" of 2016 due to finishing college in June and spending 2 months finding a job. By the end of the year I'll be 25, and despite having the full 52 contributions in 2017, will be ineligible until 2021.

Not defending it in any way. But the assumption appears to be that while other young people who didn't go to third level were working hard and contributing to their PRSI records, you and your fellow students were living it up in College at the taxpayers' expense! So it's payback time.

Then when you graduated, you got a better paying job than they did, so you can afford to pay for the annual dental inspection and eye test (which is free at Specsavers if you can get your hands on a voucher!).

Them's the breaks!

brightspark

As you are learning when you become a productive member of society you can look forward to PRSI contributions increasing and benefits decreasing.

There was once a time when the benefits were pay related as well as the contributions!