Minimum earnings which still qualify as a contribution

landlord2020

What is the minimum earnings per week for a single person that would still qualify as 52 week contribution with regards to the contributory pension.


thanks

coylemj

If you are in paid employment and can 'adjust' your weekly earnings to barely make it onto the PRSI radar, you need to make €38 p.w. - below that there is no liability to pay Class A PRSI, by employee or employer.

https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/ffa563-prsi-class-a-rates/#class-a-from-1-february-2020-all-income

If you're making voluntary contributions, the minimum Class S contribution in a year is €500 and that will get you 52 paid credits which will count towards the contributory pension.

landlord2020

thanks .. the minimum Class S contribution in a year is €500 but can only be paid for a maximum of 5 years AFAIK

coylemj

landlord2020 wrote: »

thanks .. the minimum Class S contribution in a year is €500 but can only be paid for a maximum of 5 years AFAIK

There is no time limit mentioned in the section 'Voluntary Contributions' at the foot of p.9 in the 2020 edition of 'Social Welfare Rates of Payment', the first 'download' link on this page....

https://www.gov.ie/en/collection/1af6ca-rates-of-payment-sw19/

From age 61 to age 66, you would pay a Class S (4%) levy on an imputed distribution from an ARF - I wonder is that where you got that 5 years max? The imputed distribution rule starts in the year following the calendar year when you reach 60 and you'd stop paying the Class S levy on investment income when you reach 66. So that would be a 5 year finite span of years when you'd pay Class S but there's nothing voluntary about that deduction.

landlord2020

a number of threads where people have said 5 years max :

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=111046405&postcount=14

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=111046882&postcount=18

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=111048147&postcount=27

coylemj

landlord2020 wrote: »

a number of threads where people have said 5 years max :

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=111046405&postcount=14

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=111046882&postcount=18

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=111048147&postcount=27

I studied all of those posts and the consensus is that there is a time limit of 5 years following your last paid credit when you can start paying voluntary contributions but there is no limit once you start.

You need to follow the discussion and not just accept what it says in a single post. In all three cases you quoted, the statement was rebutted.

hblock21

There is NO max years you can pay voluntary contributions. Once you qualify - you can keep paying for as long as you like.

hblock21

You can only back date 5 years I.e. if you have a gap within the last 5 years and qualify (min 520 contributions) then you can fill in that gap(s) AND also continue paying if you like - if your not working

coylemj

OP, bear in mind that if you are not working and not eligible for Jobseeker's Allowance (which is means-tested), you can sign on for credits and you can use up to a max. of 10 years of such credits when it comes to claiming the contributory old-age pension.

landlord2020

coylemj wrote: »

you can sign on for credits

Is this its formal name "sign on for credits"



Do you have to be available for work ?

coylemj

landlord2020 wrote: »

Is this its formal name "sign on for credits"



Do you have to be available for work ?

Yes to both.....

Signing For Credits

Under certain circumstances a person may be awarded credits without receiving a Benefit or Allowance payment. This may apply, for example, in the case of a person who has exhausted entitlement to Jobseeker's Benefit but who does not qualify for Jobseeker's Allowance due to their means. In this case, the person may be entitled to 'sign' for credits to protect their other social insurance entitlements. Signing for credits usually involves attending a local department office at a specified number of times per year.

Credits may also be awarded to workers involved in an official trade dispute.

In order to be entitled to Unemployment Credits, a person must be available for full-time employment, capable of work and must also be genuinely seeking work. The additional requirement to be genuinely seeking work for the award of credits while unemployed is effective from 27 August 2003.


https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/99f84f-operational-guidelines-prsi-credited-social-insurance-contributions/

coylemj

OP, there's a couple of points at that website (link in the previous post) which may be of interest in the context of signing for credits. They're at section 6 'Qualifying Conditions In Detail'.....

Restriction on the granting of Credited Contributions

If, at any stage since starting work, a person has no PRSI contributions paid or credited for 2 full tax years in a row, that person cannot get credits until he/she returns to work and pays PRSI contributions for 26 weeks. Contributions paid at Classes J, K, M or S cannot be used to satisfy this condition.

What this means is that if your last paid or credited contribution was in 2017 or earlier, you cannot sign for credits until you return to work and pay contributions for at least 6 months.

Self-employed

If a self-employed person has only ever paid Class S PRSI contributions then he or she is not entitled to credits. If the person can no longer pay Class S PRSI due to illness, unemployment or if income from self-employment falls below €5,000, he or she does not qualify for credits.

If this person wishes to continue to contribute towards state pensions he or she may opt to pay voluntary contributions