British and Irish State Pensions. Advice needed.

Battlecat2016

Hello,

I'm British, a UK resident and I currently have 21 years of UK National Insurance contributions built up. 

I also lived and worked in the Republic of Ireland and have built up 24 years of PRSI (Irish National Insurance) contributions.

I therefore qualify for a full Irish State Pension but I will not qualify for the full UK State Pension as I won't have 35 Years of NI contributions.

So I have a couple of questions..

I'm 60 now so when the time comes, where do I apply for these State Pensions? Do just go straight to the DWP and apply for BOTH or do I contact the Irish Department for Social Protection (DSP) to apply there for the Irish pension?

Secondly, if I am to receive my full Irish State Pension whilst living in the UK, plus the smaller UK Pension, will I be liable to pay any Irish or UK Income Tax?

Cheers everyone.. 

LITRG

Hello there, we have written some guidance on the UK state pension and how it is affected if you have lived or worked abroad: https://www.litrg.org.uk/international/nic-cross-border-situations/uk-state-pension-if-you-have-lived-abroad. This also covers the tax position of both UK and overseas pensions. I hope it helps. 

Battlecat2016

Thank You very much. I will take a look. 

eastcorkram

If you'll still be living in UK, then it'll be UK tax. You're supposed to claim the Irish one six months before it's due, to the international pensions centre in Newcastle. They will then contact Sligo. The UK one, you should just receive the invitation to claim letter three months before that's due. 

I'm in a similar position, but with less Ireland years. I have 18 there. I have already applied, as mine is due towards the end of this year. 

Battlecat2016

Thankyou very much eastcorkram, that information is very helpful.   

eastcorkram

@Battlecat2016

Just looking at your figures. You won't qualify for a full Irish pension with 24 years. You need 2080 PRSI contributions. You've got around 1248. 

The way your pro rata pension is being calculated is changing as from this year. Phased in over 10 years. 

Battlecat2016

You are quite correct. I thought I qualified. However, when both are combined they should make a decent enough number. I have 1225 PRSI contributions, an average of just over 48 per year.

dunstonh

I therefore qualify for a full Irish State Pension but I will not qualify for the full UK State Pension as I won't have 35 Years of NI contributions.

Unless you were born after 2000, then you won't have a requirement of 35 years.  Yours could be into 40+ years potentially.

eastcorkram

Battlecat2016 said:

You are quite correct. I thought I qualified. However, when both are combined they should make a decent enough number. I have 1225 PRSI contributions, an average of just over 48 per year.

Yes. If you were claiming it last year. The way it's calculated is changing. Mine for example, is this year. The first year of the transition. So I will get 90% using the old method, and 10% using the new method.

 Next year it will 80/20, then 70/30 and so on, until 2034, when it will all be calculated by the new method. So.....if....you were claiming in 2034  you would get around 58% of whatever the full pension is by then.

 If you were older and had claimed it last year, yes, with an average of 48 , you would have got the full pension. 

This changeover is not good for you, but you can't do anything about your age. 

Battlecat2016

I just put in a search on the nationalpensionhelpline.ie contributory pension calculator..   

In the boxes I filled in that I had 1225 reckonable contributions and 39 credited contributions. It then told me: 

'Your Weekly Pension Entitlement

is €289.30'   Confused?? Yep...

 

eastcorkram

Battlecat2016 said:

I just put in a search on the nationalpensionhelpline.ie contributory pension calculator..   

In the boxes I filled in that I had 1225 reckonable contributions and 39 credited contributions. It then told me: 

'Your Weekly Pension Entitlement

is €289.30'   Confused?? Yep...

 

I can't see anything on that site about state pension.

What year will you claim?