Request a Contribution Statement

A Contribution Statement is a summary of your pay-related social insurance (PRSI) record in Ireland. It gives you details about how many PRSI contributions you have up to the end of the last tax year and how many credits you have received.

Your Contribution Statement will help you to calculate and understand your state pension entitlements.

If you check your statement to make sure that all your contributions or credits are correct, then this will make the process faster for you when you make your claim.

Check your statement to ensure all contributions and/or credits are showing for the years you worked or claimed benefits so as not to delay your pension drawdown when you decide to make your claim.

The quickest and easiest way to request a statement is through MyWelfare.ie:

This online service allows you to:

• request a statement of social welfare payments received, such as benefits, allowances and pensions
• request a statement of your history and record of contributions paid

You get one contribution for each week that you work in insurable employment. The term ‘insurable employment' is used to describe employment where you must pay PRSI contributions.

Your PRSI contributions in Ireland are referred to as PRSI (Pay-Related Social Insurance). Sometimes, you will hear people describe their PRSI contributions as stamps.

If you are self-employed, you pay Class S PRSI contributions directly to the Revenue Commissioners. More information about PRSI for self-employed people is available here.

Long-Term Carers Contribution Periods may make it easier for a person who provided full-time care to an incapacitated person to qualify for the State Pension (Contributory) when they reach pension age.

Under this scheme, periods of time spent providing full-time care to an incapacitated person, will be included as a Long-Term Carer Contribution on your PRSI contribution record.

It is important to note that Long-Term Carers Contributions can only be used for State Pension (Contributory) and only if you have reached a minimum of 1040 caring weeks (20 years).

The quickest way to apply for a Long-Term Carers Contribution is online at MyWelfare.ie.

More information on Long-Term Carers Contributions can be found here.

Credits (credited contributions) are PRSI contributions which can be awarded to insured persons who are unable to continue paying PRSI contributions from employment.

They are awarded to customers in certain circumstances such as:

• during periods of incapacity from work or proven unemployment
• in receipt of certain allowances or PRSI benefits
• participating in a recognised employment scheme
• participating in an approved training or education course

If a person has a break in their insurance record because of illness, unemployment or other eligible scenario, a credit may be awarded (subject to certain qualifying conditions) for each week to bridge the gap between periods of insurable employment.

These credits help maintain the insurance record without a break and can help a person qualify at a later stage for other social welfare benefits. Credits do not create entitlements on their own, but they can help maintain and improve entitlements.

More information on credits can be found here.

Your contribution statement is divided into different columns. Each column is explained below:

• Year (Column 1): Relevant year
• Paid Contributions (Column 2): This column contains details of your paid contributions which have been returned by your employer or any paid self-employment contributions for each relevant year
• Credited Contributions (Column 3): This column contains details of your credited contributions linked to any social welfare payments you received
• Long-Term Carers Contributions (Column 4): This column contains details of contributions for any approved period you have provided full-time care to an incapacitated person. You need to have a total of 1040 periods/weeks (20 years) of care in this column, before they can be used in Column 5
• Reckonable Contributions for Pension (Column 5): This column contains details of your contributions which count towards the State Pension (Contributory)
• Reckonable Credited Contributions for Pension (Column 6): This column contains details of your credited contributions which may count towards the State Pension (Contributory)
• Total Reckonable Contributions and Credited Contributions (Column 7): This column provides a total figure of your reckonable contributions and reckonable credits