Assuming I qualify for the full rate pension (and the pension still exists in 20+ years time and all the other caveats), I can claim for my wife as an adult dependant.
But she has some PRSI contributions in her own name from before our kids being born - possibly not quite the minimum 520.
As I understand it if she were to clock up a small number of extra contributions and go past the 520 figure, she would qualify for the minimum contributory pension in her own right (currently €97) which would then prevent her being an adult dependant (currently €218). So from a pension point of view, is she better off never working again?
OK, if she went back to work full time for the remainder of her working life she would eventually qualify for the full rate pension, but it seems a bit of an anomaly that people who have worked and contributed could find themselves with a smaller pension than those who haven't, or have I missed something (I'm also assuming she would not qualify for the non-contributory because of my income).
But she has some PRSI contributions in her own name from before our kids being born - possibly not quite the minimum 520.
As I understand it if she were to clock up a small number of extra contributions and go past the 520 figure, she would qualify for the minimum contributory pension in her own right (currently €97) which would then prevent her being an adult dependant (currently €218). So from a pension point of view, is she better off never working again?
OK, if she went back to work full time for the remainder of her working life she would eventually qualify for the full rate pension, but it seems a bit of an anomaly that people who have worked and contributed could find themselves with a smaller pension than those who haven't, or have I missed something (I'm also assuming she would not qualify for the non-contributory because of my income).