Pre 95 public sector workers and Prsi until age 70.

She would need self employment income of a minimum of 5k per year to gain 52 class A contributions.

Should that be Class S Contribution ?
 
My husband has 260 stamps when he retires at 60 this year with a pre 1995 public sector pension of 35 years,
He has a rental which is mortgage free and will receive over 5k in rental payments and file a Form11 each year. So by aged 66 he will have 52 x 6 S stamps which will bring him to over 520 stamps (hopefully).
He would like to take up a p/t/job too but am I correct in thinking this will cancell the S stamps. he would like to recieved 25% of the state pension at aged 66….should he forget about the p/t job….?
 
He will not get 52 class S stamps from the rental income unless he also has an ARF. This is because the class M Prsi from his pre 95 pension would convert the rental to non reckonable class K.

There is a full explanation of this and also having class A employment in the link below.

To simplify all this, an ARF is key to getting 52 class S stamps per year.

If he currently has no AVCs, he can pay these for tax year 2024 up to 31 October 2025.

This would get him enough to buy a small ARF to use alongside his rental income to get the required class S stamps.
.


Key Post - PRSI and planning retirement

This Key Post is in the form of a FAQ where I don't know many of the answers. I will update the post as I get answers. 1. PRSI payable on reaching state pension age Answer: 0 (Class M) 1a. Does this relate to the start of the tax year in which you become 66? Or to after your birthday? Answer...
www.askaboutmoney.com
 
Because of the phasing out of the yearly average method, it depends on the actual year he reaches age 66.

You will need to check the percentages of yearly average and total contributions that apply for that year.

520 contributions automatically gets him into the average 10 to 15 band.

520 gives him 25% of the full COAP in the total contributions calculation.

The more contributions he manages to get the higher his COAP will be.

He probably has some pre entry credits and if he gets I class A contribution after he retires from the public sector he would get extra change of status credits.

The 1 week of employment won't prevent him from getting 52 class S for that year provided he has an ARF drawdown.


He could aim to qualify for Jobseekers benefit from age 65 to age 66. This is exactly the same as Benefit payment 65.

If he can get 26 weeks of class A employment and follow the plan below he could achieve this.

Can a person with rental or investment income over 7500 euro per year qualify for 65s benefit ?

No. However they could qualify for Jobseekers benefit at age 65. Basically the subsidiary employment rules for Jobseekers benefit are different to those for 65s benefit. Employment 1. PAYE employment Employment 2. Rental or investment income over 7000 euro per year. To qualify...
www.askaboutmoney.com
 
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Hi, hope someone can give some advice. I am a pre 1995, Class B civil servant, due to retire in 2 years at 60, so I will get my Defined pension and lump sum. I also have 104 Class A cons from prior to CS employment. I don't currently have AVC, but it is under consideration before I retire. I will be on AP salary, and will reach max payscale (Excl LSIs) at 60.

What is the best way for me to try and qualify for a COAP? I have done all the research and it is so confusing.
Would it be best to try and get an A con immediately after retirement and then try to accumulate 156 A contributions (260 - 104) before 66 or 70 so I qualify for a reduced COAP, or could I just acquire an A con and then voluntarily pay A cons after that until I reach 260?
I know there is a method of calculating Mixed contributions, but again, I struggle to figure it out.

Irony - I worked in both DSFA and Revenue years ago and knew these things inside out, but not anymore.

Or would it just be better to take out an AVC and draw down 5k per year and get the S con from an ARF?
Is there a max between my CS pension (Est 45k) and the ARF drawdown of 5k where I might end up paying more tax?

I've done my 40 years as a CS and I know I will have a very good pension, but costs are increasing, and I would like to be able to maximise what I currently have and what is achievable before either 66 or 70.
Any advise would be really appreciated. Thanks
 
Retiring at age 60 you have scope to gain an extra 10 years of Prsi contributions up to age 70.

The easiest and cheapest way to gain extra full rate paid contributions is from ARF drawdowns of 5k per year.

Firstly start paying AVCs up to retirement.
You will get tax relief @ 40% on AVC contributions.
You will probably also pay 40% tax or your ARF drawdowns.

However there are advantages in setting up an ARF.
For each yearly drawdown of 5k you will only pay approximately €225 to gain 52 class S contributions. This is a lot less than the cost of voluntary contributions.

You should aim to reach 520 full rate paid contributions.
You need an extra 416 (8 years) contributions. So you could defer your COAP until age 68 and qualify for a larger pension calculated by the TCA method.

An ARF of 40k + would allow you to gain the extra full rate paid Prsi.

You cannot make voluntary contributions until you have 260 full rate paid contributions (class A and class S).

You should get at least 1 class A paid contribution after you retire. This will get you change of status credits.

You should also aim to qualify for BP65.
With this in mind you should sign on for Jobseekers credits after gaining your class A Prsi contribution.

There is another way to qualify for BP 65, if you exhaust your ARF before age 65. If you decided to do this you could then pay voluntary Prsi up to age 68 to reach the 520 paid Prsi target.

Read these posts for further information.

Key Post - PRSI and planning retirement

This Key Post is in the form of a FAQ where I don't know many of the answers. I will update the post as I get answers. 1. PRSI payable on reaching state pension age Answer: 0 (Class M) 1a. Does this relate to the start of the tax year in which you become 66? Or to after your birthday? Answer...
www.askaboutmoney.com

Can a retired PAYE worker use class S contributions to qualify for Benefit Payment 65.

The following is based on my reading of the rules of BP65SE, so it may or may not be possible. If a PAYE worker has taken early retirement and has ARF drawdowns over 5k per year they will get 52 class S contributions per year. If this person doesn't meet the class A rules in their governing...
www.askaboutmoney.com
 
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Oh thank you so much @SClass
So basically, I have to have 260 between my pre existing A cons, any A cons from future employment and any future S cons from ARF drawdowns to qualify for a reduced rate COAP.

So, if I have 104 pre existing A cons, and say, 3 years ARF drawdown, totalling 156 cons, these would total 260 and will qualify me for a reduced COAP and if I have any more A or S cons the COAP rate would increase, is that correct?

and If I did reach 260 cons as above over we will say 3 years after retirement (Using 15k AVC), and presuming I exhausted my ARF, would the voluntary paid A cons from year 4 onwards increase the COAP also ?

I am presuming that any potential Job Seekers credits wouldn't increase the COAP payment?

Thanks for the links provided, I will certainly be reading them in detail and putting in a plan of action for the next 2 years.
I have read a lot of your replies and they have certainly given a lot of information in plain language that is unfortunately not available elsewhere.
 
Yes extra class A or class S can be used to reach the 260 target.

With 260 full rate paid contributions you qualify for a pro rata pension. Any credits will be included in this calculation. These can be pre entry, change of status and Jobseekers credits.

Yes once you reach the 260 paid level you can then pay voluntary Prsi which is reckonable to reach the 520 paid level.

Voluntary contributions would work out very expensive for you.
You would pay 6.6% of your Public Sector pension income, per year.
Maintaining 5k ARF drawdowns up to the 520 target would be vastly cheaper.

Jobseekers credits during any years where you have 52 class S contributions will not increase your overall reckonable contributions for the COAP, but they can be very useful if you want to qualify for BP65 without the need to exhaust your ARF before age 65. You just need 13 weeks of part time employment às explained in the Prsi and planning retirement thread.

Deferring your COAP for a couple of years and aiming to reach 520 paid contributions would be beneficial for you.

Check this out here.

Pre 95 retiring with 30 years service

Am working part time for the past few years and want to keep doing so until retire at 60. Salary is currently about 32k and on lower tax bracket. When should I start paying into a lump sum AVC to bring upto the 1.5 times salary when I retire. And is the purpose of this so that I can claim 20%...
www.askaboutmoney.com
 
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S Class,
Many thanks for your brilliant contributions to this forum. Can you further explain the following, which you have posted many times?

You should get at least 1 class A paid contribution after you retire. This will get you change of status credits.

What exactly does this relate to? Why should it be done? I am currently on DB pension and drawing €5,000 ARF. I will have at least 520 by age 66. Am I losing out somehow by not paying any A class contributions at present?

Thanks again.
 
Magilla said:
S Class,
Many thanks for your brilliant contributions to this forum. Can you further explain the following, which you have posted many times?

You should get at least 1 class A paid contribution after you retire. This will get you change of status credits.
Click to expand...
Gentle reminder of how to quote properly...

How to reply to or quote a post

To reply to a post, you just start typing in box below the post and then press Post Reply.
www.askaboutmoney.com
 
@Magilla
Change of status credits are awarded for the year you pay a class A contributon where you have previously been a modified Prsi contributor (class B or D). They are also awarded for the previous year.

So if you paid a class A contribution in 2026, you would get change of status credits for 2025 and 2026.

Will you have 5k+ ARF drawdowns for these two years ?

For any year you have 52 class S, change of status credits are of no advantage because you already have 52 reckonable contributions for these years.

Change of status credits would have been an advantage if you had gained a class A contribution immediately after you ceased your public sector employment. They would have given you extra reckonable contributions.

Are you under age 63 ?
If you are, 13 class A Prsi contributions and then Jobseekers credits could allow you to claim BP65.
 
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Wow, quick reply. Thanks so much.

I have 52 Class S for 24 and 25 and ongoing. Retired Sept 23 but only Class D for that year. No Class A since as I have not worked since retiring. Turned 60 last September.

So, if I understand you correctly, if I had paid Class A at the end of 2023, all contributions for that year could have been changed to A effectively?

Is paying Class S to age 65, as I plan to, sufficient?
 
Magilla said:
So, if I understand you correctly, if I had paid Class A at the end of 2023, all contributions for that year could have been changed to A effectively?
Click to expand...
(Not class A, but reckonable credits.)
Yes, and all 2022 also. Nothing you can do about this now.
Magilla said:
Is paying Class S to age 65, as I plan to, sufficient?
Click to expand...
This will maximise your Reckonable contributions up to age 65.
You can gain more class S from age 65 to 66 if your ARF is large enough. You can also defer your COAP up to age 70 to gain more class S contributions. If you can get into a higher averaging band by defering, it might be beneficial. You would need to calculate out how much extra pension you might gain.

Aim to get 13 weeks class A employment (all in the same year) after you reach age 61 and sign on for Jobseekers credits up to the end of the year of your 63rd birthday. This will qualify you for BP65.

You missed out on change of status credits, make sure not to miss out on BP65.
 
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Too bad I didn’t know this before.
What is BP65?
If I can manage 52 Class S every year, what is the rationale for paying Class A at the ages specified?
Sorry for the confusion.
 
Magilla said:
What is BP65?
Click to expand...
Benefit payment 65.
€254 per week from age 65 to 66.
You are allowed this alongside your public sector pension and ARF drawdowns.
Magilla said:
If I can manage 52 Class S every year, what is the rationale for paying Class A at the ages specified?
Click to expand...
The class A and Jobseekers credits are of no further benefit for your COAP, but they can allow you to gain BP65.

Having class A employment does not interfere with your class S from your ARF.

You are allowed to sign on for Jobseekers credits alongside your public sector pension and ARF drawdowns.
 
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