Pension top up - advice needed please

Hi, I would very much appreciate any advice on increasing the potential pension I might receive. Here are the facts-

Moved to Ireland and started working November 2011. Job was a fixed term contract, so no company pension. Since October 2012 now have a permanent job, paying 5% into company pension scheme. I will increase it to 25% and back date it from July. I'm 45 and been working in UK. I am fully paid up with the Uk state pension and will continue to top that up until the maximum qualifying years are met. My private pension in the uk is worth ~£12k. I have a joint 25 year mortgage here. All my savings went into the house.

My questions are:

Can I buy years in the Irish system, so I can qualify for the Irish state pension in addition to getting the UK one? If so, how?

Can I pay into a private pension scheme whilst paying 25% into my employer's scheme? If possible, which scheme should I go for?

Thank you in advance.

Re the Irish State Pension:- you CANNOT buy back years,(anyhow it would not benefit you).

It is vital that you have a paid contribution or credit or voluntary contribution for every week to get the maximum benefit. Never allow a gap to occur.

Others on this forum are much better qualified to advise on company pensions so I won't go that area

I think OP needs to check whether there is any benefit in continuing to pay contributions to UK state pension for years actually worked (and ROI PRSI contributions made) in ROI.

Is it not the case that Irish state pension will be reduced by the amount of any European one received by Irish resident in retirement if the effect otherwise would be for the aggregated state pensions to exceed the maximum Irish one?

If you are a member of an employer sponsored pension scheme you can take out an AVC/PRSA linked to the employer pension. You'd need Self employed income (schedule D) to take out a personal pension.

Irish State pension will NOT be reduced by any State pension from another country. It is possible to have a full Irish pension and a part UK (or other) State pension if you have sufficient PRSI/NI (or other) contributions.

If I qualify for a full state pension here and a part pension from England how will the English pension be taxed? I read somewhere that I could end up paying 55% tax, is this possible?

It will be taxed by the Irish revenue @ 20% or 41% as appropiate in the same way as your Irish State Pension ie. by reducing your your tax credits and SRCOP. No tax is deducted by the UK.

Black Sheep said:

Irish State pension will NOT be reduced by any State pension from another country. It is possible to have a full Irish pension and a part UK (or other) State pension if you have sufficient PRSI/NI (or other) contributions.

Click to expand...

This is very good news for a lot of people I'm sure.

The reason I thought there was a deduction was that I have a recollection of corresponding on behalf of a great aunt (over 20 yrs ago) with the UK DSS about a widow's pension based on brief service by her deceased husband in the UK during the 1940s and I seem to remember what clinched the deal was that he did not have have "a full stamp record" in ROI.