Senior Notes

by Cora Flood

Kevin O'Sullivan - flanked by two lovely ladies, Ita Bridges & Marguerite Fagan at the IPC Monthly Social.

Monica, Marie, Jim & Chris enjoying the IPC Monthly Social.

Sheila & Rita enjoying the music and dancing at the IPC Monthly Luncheon.

Follow on from previous week's article on Pre-1953 Pension Qualifications

So are my Pre-53 contributions worthless?

No they are not worthless. Persons who do not qualify for this pension based on Irish Social Insurance contributions may qualify for a smaller EU pro-rata pension based on a combination of Irish contributions and contributions recorded in another EU country, or a country with which Ireland has a bilateral agreement on social security (such as the United States, Canada, Australia etc.)

A minimum of 260 contributions are needed for this pension. An individual would also need a minimum of 52 full rate Irish contributions. Every two full rate Irish contributions paid before 1953 are counted as 3 contributions. The remainder can be made up of reckonable foreign contributions (e.g. contributions paid in Britain). There are different rates of payment depending on the combination of Irish and foreign contributions.

I worked and paid contributions in Ireland for more than five years, yet the Pensions Office tells me I do not have enough contributions. How can this be?

There are two main types of social insurance contributions in Ireland.

(a) Full rate or ordinary contributions, (stamps), were paid prior to the introduction of PRSI (Pay Related Social Insurance) in 1979. These were paid by people in the private sector and by un-established public servants if they were liable to pay social insurance.

(b) Modified or reduced rate contributions are not reckonable for this pension. The underlying rationale for this, at that time, was that such employments should not come within the scope of normal social insurance where there was already adequate occupational cover provided by the employer.

Some of the reasons why some types of employment may not have been insurable:

(1) The employment may have been of "inconsiderable extent". Generally this means part-time employment. If the employment was less than 18 hours a week it would not have been insurable.

(2) The employment may have been casual work. Generally, casual work is not insurable.

(3) If the employment was a subsidiary of employment, it would not have been insurable. Thus if it was not your main employment (e.g. if you were also self-employed, as a farmer for instance), it would not have been insurable. Self-employment was not insurable until April 1988. If it was considered that a person was self-employed, no stamps would have been due. Members of a family business, such as a farm, were not liable to pay social insurance until 1989.

(4) A person's income was over the insurable limit. Before April 1974 social insurance was compulsory for manual workers regardless of their income. However, in the case of non-manual workers, social insurance was only compulsory if their income was below a set amount, known as the insurable limit or the earnings limit. This limit was increased from time to time and, as a result, some people found themselves intermittently in and out of insurance, thus causing gaps in their insurance record. A non-manual worker whose earnings were over the limit would be exempt from paying social insurance.

In some cases, people may believe that they had paid social insurance in good faith but these contributions were not registered. However, if a claimant can provide documentary evidence that they were in insurable employment, such as an old stamped insurance card/number, corroboration from witnesses or work references, the Pension Services office would review their entitlement. In some circumstances, they would request that a Social Welfare Inspector investigate the case with a view to establishing whether replacement contributions are due for the period in question.

I'm not happy with the calculation of my pre-53 contributions. Can I appeal?

You can appeal the decision and if you are still not satisfied you can go before a tribunal.

Source: Safe Home Ireland June 2010 Newsletter.

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