Class D PRSA Jobseekers entitlement ?

Good morning,
I plan on retiring in a year's time, at 55, from a civil service position after 35 years service .

Can anyone advise if I would be entitled to Jobseekers Allowance or Benefit? I know Class D contributions do not qualify for one of those payments, maybe neither .

There's a training programme through the ETB which I would like to undertake, it's currently free for someone employed or anyone on JS so I'm wondering if I'm ineligible for any JS Allowance, I'd have to undertake the course this September while I'm still in full time employment.

Thanks for reading !

JSB = no.

JSA is means-tested. I presume that with a pension, you'd fail the means-test.

Thank you for your assistance .

@creditworthy

Condition 1

You must have paid at least 104 PRSI insurable employment contributions at Class A, H or P,


Would you meet this Prsi condition ?
If you do, you have a possibility to qualify for Jobseekers benefit at a future date.

If you work in PAYE employment after you retire from class D employment and gain at least 1 class A paid contribution and then sign on for Jobseekers credits for a few years.

You then just need to meet the condition to have a minimum of 39 contributions in the governing year. 13 of these should be paid class A, the remainder can be Jobseekers credits.

If you started this in 2026, you could meet the governing year rule in 2027. You would then qualify for Jobseekers benefit for a claim submitted in 2029. You would probably only qualify for JB minimum rate. This is approximately 110 euro per week.

If you are able to delay your training this might work for you.
Or maybe you might like to try some different training in a few years time.

You should read this thread for information about gaining extra paid Prsi in order to qualify for a partial COAP.

S Class , thank you very much for your reply.

I apologise in advance for my very basic questions ... I've been fortunate to have been in a straight forward set up all my working life and never needed to get to grips with anything else .

I forgot to clarify that im payingClass D contributions . I'll also be drawing down AVC's as ARF's for possibly 5 years until that money runs out .
Will there be PRSI paid on the ARF drawdown, if so, would that count towards the qualifying year total?
I could definitely work one day a week ( is there 1 PRSI credit per week worked ?) , if so , theres no need for me to work 2 days per week .

Could you clarify this piece of information for me please ...maybe its self explanatory !
Does that mean Id need only 1 Class A contribution or is it 1contribution per week ?

"If you work in PAYE employment after you retire from class D employment and gain at least 1 class A paid contribution and then sign on for Jobseekers credits for a few years" .

Thank you very much for the wealth of information and help available on this forum .

Oh, and another piece of the jigsaw....I intend working from home as in holistic therapy . Not being defeatist but I would imagine that my income will be below 5k per annum.

creditworthy said:

Does that mean Id need only 1 Class A contribution or is it 1contribution per week ?

Click to expand...

The following applies to PAYE employment.
It does not apply to earned self employment.

If you work for a few hours after you retire from class D employment and earn at least 38 euro you will gain 1 class A paid contribution. This will allow you to gain up to two years of change of status credits. This 1 paid class A Prsi contribution will also allow you to sign on for Jobseekers credits.

You only need 1 paid class A contribution. You don't need to get 1 every week.

You get 1 class A Prsi contribution per week, for any week where you earn a minimum of 38 euro





You would get 52 class S contributions per year from earned self employment provided that you earned a minimum of 5k.
There is no requirement to work for any particular number of days per week or weeks per year.

A combination of earned self employment and ARF drawdowns of a minimum of 5k per year might allow you to gain 52 class S in that year. This is definitely the case with unearned self employment (rental or investment income) and ARF drawdowns.





You need to aim to get a minimum of 260 reckonable paid Prsi contributions in order to gain a partial COAP. These can include class A from before you began class D employment, class A from employment after you finish class D employment, or class S from your ARF or earned self employment.

If you manage to get ARF drawdowns of 5k per year for 5 years you will reach the target of 260 paid contributions.

When you achieve this target any credits you have will also count towards your COAP. These can be Jobseekers credits, change of status credits and pre entry credits.

.

creditworthy said:

Will there be PRSI paid on the ARF drawdown, if so, would that count towards the qualifying year total?

Click to expand...

If you have ARF drawdowns of at least 5k in any particular year you will gain 52 class S Prsi contributions for that year.

These are Reckonable for the COAP.

They could allow you to qualify for Jobseekers benefit or benefit payment 65, but you would need to cease your earned self employment to qualify.

I am assuming that your holistic therapy will be self employment.

S Class, thank you so much for your advice,
I really appreciate you taking the time to give me such comprehensive advice .
Yes, the holistic would be self employed, possibly just one day a week.
I intend applying, in time, for the SURE relief when I go into that work full time.
Thank you very much .