Over 75 year old cannot avail of SSIA pension incentive.

[bstop]

My Father who is aged over 75 has applied to invest 7500 euro in a Prsa to avail of the SSIA pension incentive scheme as the Revenue has no age limit. His application has been rejected because nobody seems to provide a Prsa product or any other pension product to a person over 75.
Does any one know of any company offering this service?
I do not understand why this situation exists as there is no life assurance element in a PRSA so why discriminate against our over 75 year olds. Surly they deserve to get the same 2500 euro pension top up as much as we younger folks.

 

[ClubMan]

His application has been rejected because nobody seems to provide a Prsa product or any other pension product to a person over 75.

I don't understand - how was his application rejected? Applications for this incentive go via the pension provider and not directly to Revenue so Revenue could not have rejected it. Presumably what you mean is that he could not find a pension provider to take him on so it never got as far as Revenue in the first place? See [broken link removed]:

8. How can I avail of the new pension
incentive?

To avail of the new pension incentive, when your SSIA
matures, you should:
• Obtain an SSIA Maturity Statement from the Financial
institution where you had your SSIA;
• Give this Maturity Statement to your pension provider,
together with your contribution to the pension product that
you have chosen; and
• Complete and sign a declaration form (Form PITC2)
which your pension provider will make available for you.

Once this has been done, the Exchequer contributions
under the pensions incentive will be claimed by your
pension provider from the Revenue Commissioners and
invested in your pension product.

Is this topic of any relevance?

SSIA --> PRSA for 73 year old. What happens at age 75?

 

[boaber]

Provided retired persons can satisfy the scheme’s eligibility requirements such persons can participate in the Pensions incentive tax credits scheme. The SSIA holder's gross income cannot exceed €50,000 before all deductions in the year prior to the year in which his/her SSIA matures.

There is no specific age limit laid down in order to avail of the incentive.

There are however certain age limits attaching to pension products. For example, the upper age limit for contributing to a new PRSA is 75 years of age. The upper age limit for an Annuity Contract is 75 years of age and the age limit attaching to Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs) is the retirement age for the company linked to the Occupational Pension Scheme.

 

[bstop]

There are however certain age limits attaching to pension products. For example, the upper age limit for contributing to a new PRSA is 75 years of age. The upper age limit for an Annuity Contract is 75 years of age and the age limit attaching to Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs) is the retirement age for the company linked to the Occupational Pension Scheme.

Is the age limit for these products limited to 75 by the
pension companies or is it a statutory age limit?

The revenue claim that there is no age limit but my
fathers claim was rejected by the pension provider.

 

[Marianne]

The spirit of the PITC incentive is to encourage people to continue the savings habit and save towards their retirement. It occurs to me that your father may be already retired.

I am aware that some retired people have successfully availed of the PITC scheme, but that's an unintended loop-hole.

 

[boaber]

Is the age limit for these products limited to 75 by the pension companies or is it a statutory age limit?

The revenue claim that there is no age limit but my
fathers claim was rejected by the pension provider.

It's a statutory limit. I believe it was the Finance Act 1999 that increased the retirement age from 70 to 75 for self-employed persons.

The Pensions (Amendment) Act 2002 introduced PRSAs and the upper age limit of 75.

The Revenue are right in saying that there is no age limit to avail of the incentive - however the Acts above prevent anyone over 75 investing in a Pension. Bit of a catch 22 I'm afraid.

It's not the provider's fault - their hands are tied!

 

[boaber]

but that's an unintended loop-hole.

I wouldn't call it a loop-hole at all - in fact the incentive is meant to be open to retired individuals.

Perhaps this update from Revenue will help clarify things?

[broken link removed]

 

[Marianne]

Perhaps loop-hole was too strong a word but my point was that the scheme was not designed for retired individuals. From the Revenue release you linked to: -

The SSIA Pension Incentive Scheme is primarily a savings scheme. It is designed to encourage individuals on lower incomes to continue the savings habit, built up over the SSIA scheme, into an approved pension product. As such this incentive is primarily designed for people who are saving for retirement.

The scheme rules didn't specifically exclude retired people, but they're not the group it was originally designed for.

 

[Guest126]

Is the age limit for these products limited to 75 by the
pension companies or is it a statutory age limit?

The revenue claim that there is no age limit but my
fathers claim was rejected by the pension provider.

The Age Limit set-out in the Revenue Pensions Manual is 75 for a PRSA (all benefits from a PRSA must be taken by 75, at the latest).