Pension In Two Countries

andyred

Hi. My father recently passed away but going through his things we found forms he had filled out to claim a UK State pension. He worked in the UK for 10 to 15 years in the 60s and 70s and appears to have never collected any pension. My mother now collects his Irish private pension and her State pension but is it possible she could also send off the forms he had completed before his death and get a lump sum from his UK pension or will this conflict with her own pension at all?

splinter65

andyred wrote: »

Hi. My father recently passed away but going through his things we found forms he had filled out to claim a UK State pension. He worked in the UK for 10 to 15 years in the 60s and 70s and appears to have never collected any pension. My mother now collects his Irish private pension and her State pension but is it possible she could also send off the forms he had completed before his death and get a lump sum from his UK pension or will this conflict with her own pension at all?

Sorry for the loss of your father.
Unfortunately if your father didn’t claim his pension during his lifetime then it can’t be claimed now.

andyred

Thank you. My father was 75 when he passed so would have had 10 years of the UK pension he never collected. Would my mother not be entitled to any of that as a backdated lump sum payment?

splinter65

andyred wrote: »

Thank you. My father was 75 when he passed so would have had 10 years of the UK pension he never collected. Would my mother not be entitled to any of that as a backdated lump sum payment?

The only person who can apply for the pension is the pensioner. As the pensioner has died then the entitlement has died with him.
The phone number is (from Ireland)
00441912187777.
Have your dads national insurance number ready when you ring.

andyred

My father was in the UK airforce so it was actually a military pension he had filled out forms to claim. Is this different to the State Pension or would this also die with my father so to speak?

splinter65

andyred wrote: »

My father was in the UK airforce so it was actually a military pension he had filled out forms to claim. Is this different to the State Pension or would this also die with my father so to speak?

Oh I’m sorry I assumed you were referring to a state pension. After my father died my mother got his UK pension of £100 including £5 per week (!) from his time in the British Army (she continues to get it to this day) BUT:
A. My father was only 52 and she 46 and I know that makes a huge difference to the entitlement in that neither were of old age pension age and I assume your mother is
B. That was 40 years ago.
Nonetheless if I were you I would ring that number on Monday any time after 9.30am to make your query . They are extremely busy at this time but are very helpful once you get through.
As I say, have his NI handy when you ring.

coylemj

andyred wrote: »

My father was in the UK airforce so it was actually a military pension he had filled out forms to claim. Is this different to the State Pension or would this also die with my father so to speak?

Yes, a military pension is very different. The term 'state pension' is generally used to refer to the old age pension you get paid when you reach a certain age and is based on social welfare contributions - National Insurance (NI) in the UK and PRSI here. Military pensions are based on rank and service.

If your father paid UK NI contributions, he might have managed to consolidate his UK and Irish contributions i.e. the Irish state might have recognised his UK NI contrubutions under the bilateral agreements that exists betwen the two countries. Which might explain why he was not in receipt of a separate UK pension in later years.

But he may not have been liable for NI contributions when serving in the RAF, in the same way that up to a few years ago, Gardai, Army, civil servants etc. did not pay the full rate of PRSI here. Which means that he would not have been able to 'bring home' any contributions paid for in the UK. And it's possible that if he only served 10 to 15 years, he could have left the RAF without any pension entitlements.

andyred wrote: »

My mother now collects his Irish private pension and her State pension but is it possible she could also send off the forms he had completed before his death and get a lump sum from his UK pension or will this conflict with her own pension at all?

The only scope for 'conflict' would arise if her Irish state pension is of the the non-contributory variety. That is means-tested and can be reduced, based on other income and/or cash assets. Meaning that if the RAF suddenly started paying her a widow's pension, the Irish state would probably reduce her non-contributory pension by the same amount. But if she is in receipt of a contributory state pension, she can claim any amount from any source and it will not affect that pension.

StackSteevens

andyred wrote: »

My father was in the UK airforce so it was actually a military pension he had filled out forms to claim. Is this different to the State Pension or would this also die with my father so to speak?

If you mean that he was in the RAF, then why not say so? It's absolutely nothing to be ashamed of!

These are the contact details for UK military pensions:-

Armed forces pensions enquiries
Joint Personnel Administration Centre (JPAC)
Mail Point 480
Kentigern House
65 Brown Street
Glasgow
G2 8EX

Phone:
0800 085 3600

Phone (from overseas):
0044 141 224 3600

Phone (military):
94560 3600

Email dbs-pensionshelp@dbspv.mod.uk