Public pension after being an expat

Jude13

Hi all, my OH worked in the public sector for approx 7 years from straight out of college. She is now an expat about 5 years.

Id there a way to continue paying in to this pension? Or provide a top up for the period she has not been in Ireland?

Thanks all.

The J Stands for Jay

Jude13 wrote: »

Hi all, my OH worked in the public sector for approx 7 years from straight out of college. She is now an expat about 5 years.

Id there a way to continue paying in to this pension? Or provide a top up for the period she has not been in Ireland?

Thanks all.

No.

Mrs OBumble

Is she in a country with a bilateral agreement for pensions?

tanit

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Is she in a country with a bilateral agreement for pensions?

Question about this how the whole bilateral agreements work?

I know that theoretically contributions from other EU member states can be moved to another member state, I think, but how would it work if you for instance want to move to USA, Australia, Canada, etc. ?

And where would be the best place to check this in?

Also this maybe relevant to the OP, I think that if you have been contributing in Ireland for 10 years (520 contributions) you can do voluntary contributions to cover any gaps you have on your record. Is that still standing or will it change with the new pension reform they are preparing?

Thanks

coylemj

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Is she in a country with a bilateral agreement for pensions?

The bilateral agreements are about mutual recognition for social welfare contributions which people need in order to build up an entitllement to the state old age pension. I'm pretty certain that the OP is asking about his OH's occupational pension which is a different matter.

If you work for five or more years in the Irish public sector, your pension is locked down (vested?) and you cannot withdraw the contributions. This means that if you leave with at least five years service (OP's OH had seven years), you go back to them when you've reached retirement age (which may vary, dependng on which branch of the PS you worked in) and they will pay you a reduced pension.

To my knowledge, there is no way to purchase service credits or make AVC contributions from outside the system.

Hani Kosti

coylemj wrote:

The bilateral agreements are about mutual recognition for social welfare contributions which people need in order to build up an entitllement to the state old age pension. I'm pretty certain that the OP is asking about his OH's occupational pension which is a different matter.

This. Don't be mixing up state contributory pension ("old age pension") and public service pension which are two very different things.