State benefit payment at 65

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Frankie123

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I have retired at 62. I have 2223 Pension Contributions so I expect a full pension at 66. I
Is there anyway around the challenge re the requirement of needing 13 contributions between the age of 63 and 65 to claim this benefit when I reach the age of 65.
Extract from citizens information site below

*If you do not have 13 paid contributions in the governing contribution year, you must have paid 13 contributions in any of the following years:
  • The 2 years before the governing contribution year
  • The last complete governing contribution year
  • The current governing contribution year
 
If you have 13 paid contributions in the calender year of your 61st or 62nd birthday you are okay. You then just need 39 credits in the calender year of your 63rd birthday. So make sure to sign on for credits.

The governing year is the calender year of your 63rd birthday.
 
Appreciate your response. :) Really do as I have 2 of my friends in the same situation and we have been actively looking at opportunities to get 13 weeks work. Looks like we can give up the search.
In Summary...
So if I want the benefit at 65, the governing contribution year is at 63 and if I have 13 paid contributions at 61 or 62 I qualify. The key is to keep my credited signed on contributions to enable me to take 61 and 62 into account.
 
Yes that's all correct. Keep signing on up to the end of your 63rd year.

The only thing that would catch you out, is if you have investment or rental income over 7500 euro per year. If you have, you would need to follow the plan in the link below.
Pension income does not prevent you from qualifing.

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...
askaboutmoney.com
 
@Frankie123

If you haven't already done so I'd suggest that you request a statement of contributions from DSP (leave it until after the 1st April so that it includes 2023 in full) to make sure your record is correct. And repeat this request annually. You can submit your request online on mywelfare.ie if you have a verified PSC.
 
Good morning all

Quick question. If I retire at e.g. 62 with my sole income being from an ARF from my DC pension, will I be eligible for the state benefit at 65?

Any issues that you can think of?

Thanks in advance.

LT
 
Just make sure to sign on for class A credits. You must qualify using class A contributions.
You won't qualify using the class S contributions from your ARF
 
Thanks S Class. I was hoping that you would reply to share your experience.

If I am already paying S Class contributions during my pension drawdown, how do I change to Class A contributions? Do I need to suspend my payments from the ARF and claim Class A contributions instead.

Thanks

LT
 
Sorry to hijack this thread, but I am concerned and confused about the requirement to have Class A PRSI stamps in order to obtain the BP 65 payment as this is my governing year.

I am 63. I was paying Class S PRSI when I stopped working in 2022. In 2023, I paid Class S PRSI on rental and dividend income and also had an ARF income. I plan for income in 2024 and 2025 to continue similarly as 2023. My understanding was that as long as I have 3 full years Class S PRSI, I will be entitled to the BP65 payment during the year before I draw down the OAP.

Will I be entitled to the BP 65 payment or am I frozen out due to the lack of Class A stamps ?

Thanks
 
LiferT said:
Thanks S Class. I was hoping that you would reply to share your experience.

If I am already paying S Class contributions during my pension drawdown, how do I change to Class A contributions? Do I need to suspend my payments from the ARF and claim Class A contributions instead.

Thanks

LT
Click to expand...
You can claim class A credits and pay class S Prsi at the same time.
Assuming you are retiring from class A employment, you can sign on for class A credits after ceasing your employment.
 
JohnFK said:
Sorry to hijack this thread, but I am concerned and confused about the requirement to have Class A PRSI stamps in order to obtain the BP 65 payment as this is my governing year.

I am 63. I was paying Class S PRSI when I stopped working in 2022. In 2023, I paid Class S PRSI on rental and dividend income and also had an ARF income. I plan for income in 2024 and 2025 to continue similarly as 2023. My understanding was that as long as I have 3 full years Class S PRSI, I will be entitled to the BP65 payment during the year before I draw down the OAP.

Will I be entitled to the BP 65 payment or am I frozen out due to the lack of Class A stamps ?

Thanks
Click to expand...

You don't necessarily have to have class A Prsi to qualify for BP65.
It is possible to qualify with class S Prsi. However there are a different set of rules.

In your case, you will not qualify under class S or class A rules if your rental and investment income is over 7500 euro per year.

If you follow the plan in the link on post #4 you could qualify for Jobseekers Benefit instead.

For this plan to work for you, you will need a minimum of 39 class A in your governing year. You would need Class A employment before the end of this month to get 1 paid contribution and then cease this and sign on for credits until the end of the year.
You also need a minimum of 104 class A from any time in your Prsi payment history.
 
Last edited:
S class said:
You don't necessarily have to have class A Prsi to qualify for BP65.
It is possible to qualify with class S Prsi. However there are a different set of rules.

In your case, you will not qualify under class S or class A rules if your rental and investment income is over 7500 euro per year.

If you follow the plan in the link on post #4 you could qualify for Jobseekers Benefit instead.

For this plan to work for you, you will need a minimum of 39 class A in your governing year. You would need Class A employment before the end of this month to get 1 paid contribution and then cease this and sign on for credits until the end of the year.
You also need a minimum of 104 class A from any time in your Prsi payment history.
Click to expand...
Thanks S class

Much appreciated

LT
 
S class said:
In your case, you will not qualify under class S or class A rules if your rental and investment income is over 7500 euro per year.
Click to expand...
Thanks so much for the advice. Being realistic, I'm out of time to get one paid contribution before the end of March, so I will stick with the Class S route.

Given that I will need 3 full years Class S PRSI to qualify in the first instance, does the €7500 limit apply to the each of these 3 years (2023, 2024, 2025) before I apply for the BP65, which in my case will be in Feb 2026 ?
Or is it just for the year preceding my application in 2026 ?
 
The 7500 would apply to the claim years, so 2026 up February 2027.

You also need to have ceased a self employment at any time in the period from age 63 up to your 65th birthday.

You would need to restart a self employment and then cease it before your claim.
 
S class said:
The 7500 would apply to the claim years, so 2026 up February 2027.

You also need to have ceased a self employment at any time in the period from age 63 up to your 65th birthday.

You would need to restart a self employment and then cease it before your claim.
Click to expand...
Superb info and advice
Thanks
 
This is a great forum lots of good advice. Maybe someone has a better knowledge of the 65 benefit payment then I have. I'm 65 in December of this year so I know my governing year for the 39 PRSI contributions paid or credited is 2022. I have more then 39 credited contributions at class A so that seems fine. I have nearly 40 paid contributions at class A in 2020 so again that appears to satisfy the 13 paid requirement. I finished working at the end of 2020 voluntarily and I'm signing on just for credits for my state pension. I have a Defence forces pension but no rental income or any other pension income. Will I still qualify for benefit payment in December even though I'm not receiving any money just PRSI credits ?. Any guidance will be very much appreciate. Thanks in advance
 
Just reference my last post re 65 benefit payment. I was talking to a lady in my local intreo office and she told me i didnt qualify for this payment because i didnt have 13 paid contributions in both years 2020 and 2021 only in 2020. I clearly misread the qualifying requirements as I took the meaning of the two years before the governing year to be either and not both. Anyone else any thoughts on this. Thanks
 
So basically there is a requirement of a total of 26 paid contributions 13 in both years. I think it could have been made a little clearer and simplified
 
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