I\u2019m turning 65 this year. I was self-employed in the 1980s for a few years so it wasn\u2019t possible to pay PRSI contributions until the changes introduced in 1988.<\/p>\n
While I was self-employed, I also spent just over a year caring for my children while my wife was working full-time.<\/p>\n
Is there any way of buying back contributions in my case?<\/p>\n
What recourse would I have to get the full contributory pension if I can\u2019t top up? Currently I\u2019ll be about two years short by the age of 67.<\/p>\n
Is my only option delaying claiming the pension and working until I\u2019m 69 in order to get the full rate or should I just retire?<\/p>\n
Those who were self-employed in the 1980s, such as the reader, often find themselves in a \u201cgrey area\u201d when it comes to the State pension, according to financial adviser Daniel Hardiman.<\/p>\n
Hardiman, who is managing director of Hardiman Life & Pensions in Tuam, Co Galway, says this is particularly the case if they have gaps in their PRSI<\/a> record before the introduction of compulsory PRSI for self-employed workers in 1988.<\/p>\n \u201cThe important point is that self-employed people could not pay PRSI contributions before 1988, so you are not necessarily treated in the same way as someone who simply failed to make contributions when they were due,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Depending on the reader\u2019s overall contribution history, they may still qualify for a higher rate of pension than they might expect, he says.<\/p>\n However, there is generally no facility to retrospectively \u201cbuy back\u201d missing ordinary PRSI years from the 1980s.<\/p>\n \u201cVoluntary contributions can help some people maintain a contribution record going forward, but they do not usually allow historic gaps from decades ago to be repaired,\u201d Hardiman says.<\/p>\n The period the reader spent caring for his children also may not fully qualify for relief under the Homemaker\u2019s Scheme or the HomeCaring Periods scheme, he says, noting that they were introduced in 1994.<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, it is still important to have your record formally reviewed by the Department of Social Protection<\/a> before assuming you will fall short of the full pension,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n This area has become particularly complicated as Ireland is currently transitioning between two different methods of calculating the contributory State pension, he says.<\/p>\n