During my first employment between 1977 and 1980 with Ascon (possibly taken over by Bam), I was informed that pension payments were made for me as part of my salary.<\/p>\n
I emigrated in 1980 and returned to Ireland in the late 1980s\/early 1990s, setting up my own business. I never thought to see about the pension and a new PPSN was issued to me.<\/p>\n
Is there any way to track if some moneys are due to me from 1977-80?<\/p>\n
RH<\/p>\n
You are far from the only person who has never thought to track old pension<\/a> pots. I suspect tens of thousands of people move jobs regularly, especially early in their careers and never think to track down money that was set aside for pensions \u2013 perhaps never even recall that it was.<\/p>\n This is especially the case for people who have moved aboard, perhaps to several companies and who later return home, or not.<\/p>\n But it is well worth doing.<\/p>\n Pensions are a highly regulated industry and those running company or industry pension schemes are obliged to keep meticulous records of whom paid in what and what they are entitled to.<\/p>\n Having said that, I am aware that some employers \u2013 either less scrupulous or simply poorly organised \u2013 were not as assiduous as they were supposed to be in ensuring that social insurance payments (PRSI) were returned accurately. I have experience of that even in my own family.<\/p>\n I think things are a lot more tightly controlled now, but you are looking back almost 50 years, when things appear to have been a little more haphazard.<\/p>\n You don\u2019t clarify whether you are tracking down social insurance pensions coverage or occupational (private) pension cover, but it is certainly worth checking both.<\/p>\n PRSI has been in operation since 1953, so if you were working in 1977 and earning above very modest minimum levels, payments should certainly have been deducted from your salary and returned to what is now called the Department of Social Protection<\/a> to beef up the Social Insurance Fund.<\/p>\n Those three years of contributions could help in improving the level of contributory State pension to which you are entitled when you hit 66. On their own, they would not get you over the line \u2013 you need a minimum of 10 years to qualify \u2013 but everyone who is self-employed has had to pay PRSI since 1988. Assuming you returned in the very late 1980s or early 1990s, you would have close to the 40 years of contributions required for a full State pension. These three years could get you there.<\/p>\n But, from what you say, these years may appear under a different PPS number, or even one of the Revenue and Social Insurance (RSI) numbers that preceded them.<\/p>\n You need to contact the Department of Social Protection to request a copy of your PRSI record. If these earlier contributions are not on the printed record you will be sent, you will have to pursue them via your old number. The department should be able to track it down, but the more details you can give them about name, address, employer and dates from when you started working, the better.<\/p>\n You can either write to Records Section, Department of Social Protection, McCarter\u2019s Road, Buncrana, Co Donegal or access them via mywelfare.ie.<\/p>\n On the occupational pension side, you could either have been part of the industry-wide Construction Workers\u2019 Pension Scheme or a private inhouse Ascon scheme.<\/p>\n The construction workers\u2019 scheme is based at Linden House, 4 Clonskeagh Square, Clonskeagh Road, Dublin 14, D14 FH90. Initially, you can call them at 01 4977663. Again, the PPS or RSI number in effect at the time would be useful to help them track your details if you have a pot with them.<\/p>\n And then there is Ascon. As you say, along with another well-known builder, Rohcon, it rebranded as Bam<\/a> in 2008. That\u2019s right \u2013 the builder behind the national children\u2019s hospital<\/a>. It is a Dutch-owned group.<\/p>\n Generally, an employee had to work for a certain time before being given access to a company scheme. Three years should be more than enough to ensure you were and, as long as you were there for more than two years, you should have built up some benefits. Most likely back then, they were final salary defined benefit schemes but that might have changed since.<\/p>\n Get in touch with Bam at Bam Ireland Limited, Hartwell Lower, Kill, Co Kildare, W91 KH3E. Alternatively, check by phone (045 886400) or email to confirm the proper contact point for pensions queries. <\/p>\n If all else fails, try the regulator, the Pensions Authority at pensionsauthority.ie\/contact-us\/. Among its roles is tracking down lost pensions, so it should be well familiar with your sort of query and able to direct you on where best to go.<\/p>\n