early retirement - unemployment benefits?

[ignorant1]

Retired (left my job) on reaching age 60. Have 26.5+ years of PRSI contributions at A1 rate. Not intending (at present anyway) to go back to full-time employment. Might go back to college. Am I entitled to any unemployment benefit? Very ignorant in this area, someone told me am entitled to benefit of some kind for 18 months. Is this true? Looked at the SW website, but find it impossible to see what my entitlements are, if any. I have a pension fund built up with my former employer, but haven't done anything with it yet. Not sure if I should let it sit until I am 65.

 

[tomred1]

you could quailify for unemployment benefit if you have the 52 a contributions paid but you would have to be available and seeking work. Retirement pension only starts at 65. Pre-retirement allowance starts at 55 but you must be longed term unemployed (15 months) before you can apply and you must satisfy a means test.

 

[pat127]

you could quailify for unemployment benefit if you have the 52 a contributions paid but you would have to be available and seeking work. Retirement pension only starts at 65. Pre-retirement allowance starts at 55 but you must be longed term unemployed (15 months) before you can apply and you must satisfy a means test.

The period of payment is approx 15 months. You have to be available for work as had been said but depending on what you did for a living, finding a job that you are capable of doing might be another ball-game. In any event you are as well off signing on for UB and drawing it until or unless a job did actually come up. If you have left your job voluntarily DSW can delay the start of your payment for up to 9 weeks.

If you don't decide to apply for UB, you should sign on anyway in order to keep up your credits and you can declare yourself officially retired if you wish. You won't have to sign on every week but will instead fill in a form once a year confirming that you haven't been working.