Public sector pension - moved to the UK

Babby

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Hi,

I worked in Ireland for 12 years have a contributed to a public sector pension in Ireland ( approx 9.5 years, with 2 years of prsi contributions in another job and 6 months at home with my children when I was not working that I assume I would get homemaker credit for

I am now working in the U.K. and not planning to return to Ireland.

I am wondering if I need to make voluntary contributions to be eligible for the Irish state pension in the future - I am unclear how things stand now with Brexit so I wondered if someone could advise

I understand that if I want to make additional payments I need to make them within 5 years of leaving Ireland, which will be this July.

Apart from one months break for relocation, I have worked continuously in the U.K. for 4 years 10 months ( in the nhs) , so I am wondering if this will be taken into account for Irish state pension or will this contribute to a U.K. pension

I am unclear if public sector pension holders in Ireland also get the state pension or if this is included in their public sector pension?

i am also unclear if nhs pension holders also get the state pension in the U.K.?

thanks for any advice on this
 
Anybody who started in the PS after April 1995 in Ireland pays full-rate class A social insurance.

So that leads to a State Pension.
 
I understand that if I want to make additional payments I need to make them within 5 years of leaving Ireland, which will be this July.
You can start to make voluntary contributions, yes. First you have to make sure you have 520 contributions, which is almost certainly yes for you.

Then the rate is a function of your contributions in your last year of salary which for you would have been Class A.


You would have to pay backdated to 2016 too, but they might be flexible on payment schedule if you ask.

So for someone on a high public sector salary like a hospital doctor voluntary contributions might not be worth it as the Irish state pension is flat rate. So the logic is as follows: the lower your Irish salary was the more sense it makes to make voluntary contributions.

Over thirty years however, you'd have to assume there will be inflation though. The Irish state pension will go up in cash terms but the calculation basis will stay the same. So over time contributing becomes cheaper.

Bear in mind if you own a property in Ireland and are paying Class S PRSI you are not eligible to make voluntary PRSI contributions.



I've no idea about NHS pensions. It might be possible to transfer your Irish state pension into a UK one. Maybe start a different thread on that.
 
I am unclear if public sector pension holders in Ireland also get the state pension or if this is included in their public sector pension?

Your PRSI record in Ireland (whether in the public sector or not) will count towards the state pension eligibility criteria. Your public sector service (and pension contributions) will also count towards a public sector occupational pension, which you will have to apply for seperately at the "normal retirement age" for the relevant pension scheme (probably 60 if you started before April 2004, or 65 if afterwards). You apply to your former employer for the occupational pension.

Most pre-1995 public servant entrants paid PRSI at a lower rate which doesn't count towards the state pension but their occupational pension is correspondingly higher.
 
You apply to your former employer for the occupational pension.
They will already give you an estimate of your lump sum and pension entitlements on the notional basis of you retiring tomorrow. With inflation of course it will be higher as it is linked to the current salary for the grade you left.

For a lot of public service it is PeoplePoint who provide this estimate...not sure about HSE.
 
Thanks, I worked as a non consultant hospital doctor before I left Ireland.
As far as I know I am contributing to an nhs and state pension in the UK at present.
Is it possible to claim a state pension in both Ireland and the U.K. in the future?
 
Is it possible to claim a state pension in both Ireland and the U.K. in the future?
Yes.

It is possible to make voluntary contributions in one jurisdiction and compulsory (ie, job-related) contributions in the other.

You should check with DSP soon how much your voluntary contributions would cost you. It is generally better value the other way round (compulsory in Ireland, voluntary in the UK) but still probably worth it for you.

Post here in this thread the cost and I can give you an idea of whether it will be worth your while.
 
Thanks. What I’m unclear about is if it possible to claim a full state pension in Ireland eg related to 40 years of contributions ( if I pay voluntary contributions for 20+ years ) and a state pension in U.K. related to 30 years of contributions ?

I know before Brexit the Irish state pension contribution record could be added to the state pension contribution record in uk

but I am unclear post Brexit, and I am unclear if additional pension contributions are allowed if you are living in U.K. ?
 
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This is complicated, and what follows is the best of my understanding. So feel free to take further advice and a phone call to DSP would be helpful as this is a very common issue.

My understanding:

Once you have 10+ years of work-related PRSI contributions in Ireland and move outside the EU you can make voluntary PRSI contributions which will get you an Irish state contributory pension eventually.

In the UK you will just pay NI as part of your NHS employment. I think you need 35 years for a full UK state pension. With your age you might not ever get the full 35 years. I don't know how the UK state pension interacts with your NHS pension. I presume they are separate.

As per your question is a procedure for adding Irish PRSI contributions to your UK record to boost your pension, but this is generally for people with less than 10 years PRSI contributions in Ireland, so no entitlement to even a partial Irish state pension, nor the option to make voluntary contributions. This is not you.

So at retirement age (different in Ireland and UK) you will just claim both pensions.
 
EU rules govern pension claims for workers who have worked in different EU countries but it isn't clear how Brexit has affected this situation.

I worked in 3 different EU countries (Ireland, UK and France) and now receive reduced pensions from all of them. The rules were quite clear on how the reduced pensions were calculated (differently in each country, of course) and each of the countries pension authorities were obviously aware of the rules
 
EU rules govern pension claims for workers who have worked in different EU countries but it isn't clear how Brexit has affected these situations

Citizen's Information is quite clear on this:

You can choose to pay voluntary contributions (if you are under 66 and meet the other conditions) if you:

  • Are no longer covered by compulsory PRSI in Ireland
  • Are no longer covered by PRSI on a compulsory or voluntary basis in another EU country
If you are working outside the EU and not subject to Irish or EU social insurance contributions you may also opt to pay voluntary contributions.

The UK is outside the EU so the OP is entitled to make VCs which will get them a contributory Irish state pension in due course.

There is also a UK-Ireland bilateral convention from 2019 on this.

I'm not aware of any UK law which reduces UK state pension eligibility if you are making voluntary contributions in Ireland. Correct me if I am wrong.
 
@Babby

I have always found DEASP very helpful (although likely to be v. busy currently). I suggest you ring Client Eligibility Services at Telephone: (01) 471 5898, LoCall: 1890 690 690, From outside the Republic of Ireland please call + 353 1 471 5898.
They should be able to confirm if you are eligible and what any voluntary contributions may count towards.

As you 5 year eligibility period ends in July you might also consider submitting an application form now ( Link from this page :https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/47cee2-operational-guidelines-prsi-prsi-voluntary-contributions/ ). This doesn't commit you but it will establish if you are eligible or not (and the cost).
 
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Hi,

I worked in Ireland for 12 years have a contributed to a public sector pension in Ireland ( approx 9.5 years, with 2 years of prsi contributions in another job and 6 months at home with my children when I was not working that I assume I would get homemaker credit for

I am now working in the U.K. and not planning to return to Ireland.

I am wondering if I need to make voluntary contributions to be eligible for the Irish state pension in the future - I am unclear how things stand now with Brexit so I wondered if someone could advise

I understand that if I want to make additional payments I need to make them within 5 years of leaving Ireland, which will be this July.

Apart from one months break for relocation, I have worked continuously in the U.K. for 4 years 10 months ( in the nhs) , so I am wondering if this will be taken into account for Irish state pension or will this contribute to a U.K. pension

I am unclear if public sector pension holders in Ireland also get the state pension or if this is included in their public sector pension?

i am also unclear if nhs pension holders also get the state pension in the U.K.?

thanks for any advice on this
NHS pension is independent of UK state pension. You get both according to your contributions to each.
 
I moved to Ireland from the UK mid career and I now receive full UK and Irish State pensions - both were topped up with several years' voluntary contributions - plus an NHS pension pro-rata for the years I worked in the system.

This was 9 and 4 years ago respectively for the state pensions so things may be different now. I always found the pensions office in Sligo very helpful. The UK equivalent was too but from my husband's more recent pre-pandemic experience that might have changed.
 
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