Establishing UK NI payments as eligibility for Ireland Pension

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Wiresandmore

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Hi

My wife and I moved to Ireland in 2005 after living in the UK more or less all our lives before that.

We both need to get a record from the UK of our NI payments there and in turn work out what that means for pension eligibility now that we live here.

Can anyone who has done this let me know what we need to do? Who to contact etc? Thanks
 
There's a few other threads on related topics and some pretty interesting options available.

Ireland average contributions approach means you are possible eligible for full pension even when starting working here later in life based on your entry into insurance date, but this option is due to be replace don't by a total contributions approach so may not be available for much longer

Seperately you can either use the uk contributions in consideration of your Irish pension if required I.e. If using total contributions approach) OR you could actually be entitled to a UK pension I need addition to the Irish one.

Can you clarify:

How long you worked in the uk
How long you worked in ireland
when you due to retire?

50+O
 
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I worked in the UK from 91-05 save for one year where I took a break to study in 1997. I’ve worked consistently in Ireland since mid-05. The only issue might be that I think I was advised to opt-out of SERPS when I started my personal pension in the UK in early 92 - not sure what impact that has or if/when I re-opted back in.

My wife worked in the UK from mid-93 through to end-96 then again from early 98-end-02. She worked in France when I was studying for most of 1997. She also had some summer jobs while at college so maybe 5-6 months of NI on top. She’s been a home maker since we moved to Ireland in mid-05, but she may look to start back in employment in the next 12 months.

I am planning to retire when 60 (in 9 years).

It’s more my wife’s situation I am concerned about and her eligibility for any state pension, and what she may need to do now (she’s 50)

Thanks for any advice
 
You can pay voluntary class 2 NI contributions in the UK in addition to paying PRSI in Ireland. You may not be able to fill in some of the gaps, but anything helps.
You'll get a full UK pension on 35 years contributions, and you'll need (I think) a minimum of 10 years contributions in Ireland before you build up an entitlement to a portion of the Irish state pension.
I don't think they've nailed down the full number of years you'll need under the new pro-rata total contributions approach pension in Ireland, but I'd go with 40 years to be on the pessimistic side. (So 10 years PRSI would get you 1/4 of the new state pension.)
As 50AndOut says, you can combine contributions from both countries, or apply for them separately. Differences in the EUR/GBP rates might affect your outcome.
In any case, I'd try to pay UK NI - it's really cheap for what you could potentially get in return.
 
This is a really interesting topic. I am able to cheaply top up my UK NIC to get the full 35 years, and I will have 20 years PRSI contributions in Ireland. My wife can do something similar but will have perhaps 6 additional years of PRSI contributions.

Landing two pensions looks like a better bet to me than combining contributions, and as has been said, it's a low cost option, so the closest thing you can get to a no-brainer in pensions.
 
If you don't have a full contributions history in either the UK or Ireland it might make sense to combine them. It all depends on the numbers.
A full UK pension is £9,110 (about €10,300 today), and the full Irish one is currently about €12,900, much more generous.
If you don't manage to build up a full UK record, then using them towards an Irish might get you more euro in the end. (One full Irish pension is better than say half an Irish and half a UK.) The differential in pension rates, the non-linear scales they currently use to determine the payment, and exchange rates all affect it.
 
Thanks - so on a practical note, what do we need to do to get a view on where we stand? Is there a particular UK form/statement we need and then what is the equivalent in Ireland?
 
For Ireland, well if you're in employment here, then you're already paying PRSI so there's nothing to do there.

There's a leaflet you can download from the HMRC website called Social Security Abroad: NI38. Within that, there's a form (CF83) you can fill in to start paying voluntary class 2 NI - you'll need a UK bank account if you want them to start taking money by direct debit, otherwise I think you can pay annually.

If you want to find out where you stand at the moment, you'll need to request a NI or PRSI contributions record from either authority.

For Ireland log into your MyWelfare.ie online account and you can request a statement.

For the UK, if you have a HMRC online account from submitting tax returns in the past you can check it in there, or you can write to them at:
National Insurance contributions and Employers Office
HM Revenue and Customs
BX9 1AN

(I'd send links for all these, but the system won't let me paste any at the moment.)
 
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Hi Wires+more

I do not know how it works for your wife re homemakers credits if she has never worked here yet. As mentioned above You should enquire for both yourself and your wife separately in both jurisdictions to clarify position.

Statements

<p>Go
services.mywelfare.ie services.mywelfare.ie
www.gov.uk

Check your National Insurance record

Find out if you've paid enough National Insurance to qualify for the full State Pension - check gaps, contributions and credits, get a National Insurance statement, call the helpline.
www.gov.uk www.gov.uk

50+O
 
Qwerty22 said:
I don't think they've nailed down the full number of years you'll need under the new pro-rata total contributions approach pension in Ireland, but I'd go with 40 years to be on the pessimistic side. (So 10 years PRSI would get you 1/4 of the new state pension.)
Click to expand...
Hi, according to the CIS website it's 40 years under the TCA.

Using the TCA, you will qualify for the maximum personal rate of State Pension (Contributory) if you have 2,080 or more PRSI contributions (or 40 years’ of employment).

State Pension (Contributory)

The State Pension (Contributory), previously called the Old Age (Contributory) Pension, is payable to people aged 66 and over who have worked and paid enough social insurance contributions.
www.citizensinformation.ie www.citizensinformation.ie
 
Qwerty22 said:
You can pay voluntary class 2 NI contributions in the UK in addition to paying PRSI in Ireland. You may not be able to fill in some of the gaps, but anything helps.
You'll get a full UK pension on 35 years contributions, and you'll need (I think) a minimum of 10 years contributions in Ireland before you build up an entitlement to a portion of the Irish state pension.
I don't think they've nailed down the full number of years you'll need under the new pro-rata total contributions approach pension in Ireland, but I'd go with 40 years to be on the pessimistic side. (So 10 years PRSI would get you 1/4 of the new state pension.)
As 50AndOut says, you can combine contributions from both countries, or apply for them separately. Differences in the EUR/GBP rates might affect your outcome.
In any case, I'd try to pay UK NI - it's really cheap for what you could potentially get in return.
Click to expand...
This is my plan - I spent most of my life in the UK. Voluntary Class 2 NICs in the UK should get me 100% UK pension and 60% Irish pension, if this is how the system works out.
 
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