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Voluntary Contributions Scheme

What is the Voluntary Contributions Scheme?

The Voluntary Contributions scheme, often referred to as PRSI (Pay Related Social Insurance) Voluntary Contributions, allows individuals to continue making social insurance contributions even after they are no longer obligated to do so under compulsory insurance.

This scheme is designed to help protect their entitlement to certain long-term social welfare benefits, namely the State Pension (Contributory) (SPC1), Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s (Contributory) Pension (WCP1), and Guardian's Payment (GP1) (Contributory)

How to Qualify for the Voluntary Contributions Scheme:

To qualify, a person must:

  • Have at least 520 weeks of PRSI paid under compulsory insurance in either employment or self-employment, if seeking admittance from a date on or after April 6, 2015. (Different totals apply for earlier periods.)
  • Apply within 60 months (5 years) after the end of the contribution year during which they last paid compulsory insurance or were last awarded a credited contribution. In very exceptional circumstances, this period may be extended at the discretion of the Minister.
  • Submit an application using the Form (VC1).

    • Note: Contributions paid at Class J (Occupational Injuries Benefit) cannot be used to satisfy these conditions.

    Rates of Contributions:

    There are three different rates of voluntary contributions:

  • High Rate: Payable at 6.6% by those who last paid contributions at class A, E, or H. Subject to a minimum annual payment of €500. This rate provides coverage for State Pension (Contributory), Widow's or Widower's Contributory Pension, and Guardian's (Contributory) Payment.
  • Low Rate: Payable at 2.6% by those who last paid contributions at class B, C, or D. Subject to a minimum annual payment of €250. This rate provides coverage for Widow's or Widower's Contributory Pension, and Guardian's (Contributory) Payment.
  • Special Rate:Payable at a flat rate of €500 by those who were previously self-employed. This rate provides coverage for State Pension (Contributory), Widow's or Widower's Contributory Pension, and Guardian's (Contributory) Payment.

    • Payment and Awarding of Contributions:

    All payments should be made directly to the department's Accounts Branch in either a lump sum at the end of the contribution year or by instalments agreed with the Voluntary Contributions Section.

    Voluntary contributions must be paid within twelve months of the billing date of the amount that is due in respect of the year to which the contribution relates.

    When the full amount of voluntary contributions charged in a given year has been paid, 52 voluntary contributions are awarded in that year.

    Voluntary contributions do not cover short-term benefits like the Illness, Jobseekers, Maternity, Paternity, Occupational Injury or Treatment Benefit Schemes, and they cannot be used to satisfy the social insurance requirements of an Invalidity Pension.

    Client Eligibility Services - Waterford
    Address: Department of Social Protection,
    Social Welfare Services Office,
    Cork Road,
    Waterford

    Phone number: 0818 690 690 or +353 1 471 5898