Non contributory pension & "stamps"

muffler

Hopefully someone here might be able to shed a bit of light on an issue. A mate of mine is unemployed (and has been for a long time) and his wife works. He will qualify for a non contributory pension next year but he has been told by a neigbour that because his wife is working he will be means tested and he will probably have a good bit deducted from his pension. It was also said that he will loose most of the other benefits that are paid with the pension i.e. electricity allowance, TV license and whatever else there is.

His wife is 3 or 4 years younger than him and intends to continue working until she gets to pension age. But in the meantime he is worried about what way his pension and benefits will be affected with her continuing to work.

Thats the background to his situation but here is the big question. He was also told by this neighbour that he could "buy stamps" (contributions is probably the correct term) and if he bought enough he would then qualify for a contributory pension which he claims is not means tested. So is there such an option available for someone to pay for a number of contributions thus giving them a better pension at the end of the day?

splinter65

Hi
Your friend can’t buy PRSI contributions now, that scheme isnt open to him.
He’ll apply for the non con pension and supply them with evidence of his own income (if he has any) her wages (payslip P60 etc) their bank/credit union/PO etc accounts both joint and individual and SW will tot it all up and say that 50%of that is his.
There is a disregard of €200 per week on his wife’s wages so if she has €450 per week (gross less PRSI) then they are only looking at €250. Say they have €35000 in savings then they would say they had €20 per week income from that.
So add the €250 and the €20 gives you€270. Deduct €30 (that’s just another disregard ). So €240. 1/2 is his. €120. Deduct the €120 from the pension rate of €232. €112 is his pension per week.

muffler

Thanks a million splinter for the detailed reply. Much appreciated.

Yeah, he thought (told this by a neighbour) he could buy contributions so thats out the window so. He hasnt any income himself and signs on weekly but I dont know how much he gets though. Im just guessing here but Id say their savings would be next to nothing but thats not his biggest problem though. It seems like he will take the biggest hit due to his wife working. Again Im guessing but Id think that she's probably earning around €350 - €400 a week but if Im reading your figures correctly it seems like the more she earns the more he will loose.

Even though he's a mate I wouldnt be comfortable with asking what his wife earns as thats a personal matter.

I'll probably end up advising him to go to the local SW office and talk to them in detail but would I be safe enough to tell him that he will probably loose approx. 50% of the pension based on his current situation?

splinter65

He should go to his local CIC and ask them to help him complete a non con pension application form. Bring his wife’s payslip and any bank statements and they’ll do a quick calculation for him. The important thing is to get the application in ASAP as his dole will stop for his 66 birthday and Sligo will need 3 months in advance to set up his pension.
Local SW offices don’t really handle pension applications.

ttsnar

Was he working in insurable employment before claiming. He may still be entitled to contributory pension if receiving credits when signing.

muffler

splinter65 wrote: »

He should go to his local CIC and ask them to help him complete a non con pension application form. Bring his wife’s payslip and any bank statements and they’ll do a quick calculation for him. The important thing is to get the application in ASAP as his dole will stop for his 66 birthday and Sligo will need 3 months in advance to set up his pension.
Local SW offices don’t really handle pension applications.

Thanks. CIC? ... is that Citizens Information Centre? Good advice to contact them early but thankfully he wont be turning 66 until early Nov. next. I think its the fact that he just hit 65 a couple of weeks ago got him thinking about this whole process and prompted by a neighbour who just got the pension recently.

ttsnar wrote: »

Was he working in insurable employment before claiming. He may still be entitled to contributory pension if receiving credits when signing.

He was signing on a long number of years ago when I first got to know him. He then spent 3 years on a community employment scheme and after that he was self employed for for several/few years. The only mention of contributions was in relation to the time he was on the CES.

splinter65

muffler wrote: »

Thanks. CIC? ... is that Citizens Information Centre? Good advice to contact them early but thankfully he wont be turning 66 until early Nov. next. I think its the fact that he just hit 65 a couple of weeks ago got him thinking about this whole process and prompted by a neighbour who just got the pension recently.



He was signing on a long number of years ago when I first got to know him. He then spent 3 years on a community employment scheme and after that he was self employed for for several/few years. The only mention of contributions was in relation to the time he was on the CES.

If he was self employed and then closed down his business then the option was there for him at the time to start making voluntary contributions, but he needed to start doing that immediately after he closed his business down (well, within 12 months). Yes that’s the Citizens Information Centre. Next summer he can pop into them and apply for his pension.