Pension : Qualified adult meaning

Daddy Ireland

When I retire at 66 my wife will be 63 ( will be retiring then).
We both have enough PRSI contributions to I would have thought qualify us (assume same rules will apply) for the full state contributory pension, my wife from age 66. Does qualified adult reduced rate apply in this scenario and will my wife not be entitled to the full state contributory pension. Thanks in advance.

coylemj

If your wife has made sufficient social welfare contributions then she can qualify for the pension in her own right. Between her retiring and getting the pension in her own name i.e. independent of you, I see three distinct stages.....

1. When she retires at age 63, she can claim Jobseeker's Benefit (JSB). If you are getting the contributory pension at that stage, you will not be able to claim the qualified adult allowance for her while she is getting JSB.

2. When her JSB runs out and before she claims the contributory pension in her own right, you can try claiming the qualified adult allowance but it's means tested in respect of her income. The cutoff for the means test is a gross income of €310 p.w. so if she is getting that from (e.g.) an occupational pension then you will be refused the qualified adult allowance. If she has an income of less than €100 p.w., you can claim the full allowance and if she has an income of between €100 and €310 p.w., you will get a reduced allowance.

3. When she claims the contributory pension (at 66 or 67, depending on what happens when the Pensions Comission reports), that adult allowance would stop.

https://www.gov.ie/en/service/a2ae6f-increase-for-a-qualified-adult/

Daddy Ireland

Thanks for replying.