Your personal financial questions – I worked in England, can I get a pension there too?
Q I am close to retirement age. I worked in Ireland from the age of 15 and also in London for 14 years. Do I get a pension from both the UK and Ireland?
A According to Frank Buckley of USP Financial, a Co. Offlay-based company that specializes in this, you will receive an Irish State Pension based on your PRSI registration here in Ireland and a UK State Pension based on your National Insurance (NI) registration in Ireland United Kingdom Helping returned migrants secure their UK state pension rights.
He said if the 14 years you’ve worked in the UK make up 14 “qualifying years” you’re entitled to a UK state pension of at least £66.20 a week. But you should also check your Irish PRSI record to make sure you’re entitled to an Irish state pension, Mr Buckley said.
You can obtain a copy of your PRSI record from the Department of Social Protection in Buncrana by calling 081 8690690. Mr Buckley informed that you can currently apply to HM Revenue and Customs to pay voluntary contributions to further increase your UK State Pension. But a critical deadline is approaching, April 5 next year.
The deadline is crucial as you can currently pay a maximum of 16 historical years (2006/07 to 2021/22) missing from your NI record. Normally you can only pay for a maximum of six historical years.
This concession expires on April 5th when the six-year rule is reactivated. Mr Buckley said if you pay for your Social Security for another 16 years the minimum will increase from £66.20 a week to £145.22 a week, an additional £79.02.
Q My husband broke his leg putting up the Christmas lights on the roof. Can he claim back the cost of the hospital bill from home insurance?
A Most home insurance policies won’t cover your husband for injuries sustained while putting up Christmas lights or decorations in your home.
This is because home accidents involving a family member or household member are generally not covered by home insurance, says Jonathan Hehir, managing director of insuremyhouse.ie. You will normally need to have accident or family accident insurance on your policy to be covered here.
With some insurers, you can optionally add this to your home insurance for an additional fee. Check your home insurance to see if you have this add-on and if so what exactly it covers.
Keep in mind that even if you have accident insurance on your home insurance, it may only cover certain injuries. If your husband has private health insurance, he can claim part or all of his hospital bill back.
Mr Hehir said if you hire someone to put up the Christmas lights next year, make sure the handyman has business and workers liability insurance.
Q I have a company car for work – an electric car. I have had this car for a year now and have not had to pay any benefits in kind tax (BIK) for it. I heard the rules around BIK are changing in the new year. As a driver of an electric car, am I still exempt?
A Depending on the value of the electric car, you could face a BIK tax bill for your company car in 2023, says Marian Ryan, excise tax manager at Taxback.com. Employees who buy electric cars through their work for their own private use have been completely exempt from the BIK tax for the last four years (2019 up to and including 2022).
This applies as long as certain conditions have been met, including that the open market value (OMV) of the car is €50,000 or less. According to current regulations, the OMV of an electric car is reduced by €50,000 if the OMV itself does not exceed €50,000. This reduces the OMV and BIK tax burden to zero.
However, the BIK regulations for company cars, including electric cars, will change from January 1st. From 2023 up to and including 2025, the extent to which you can reduce the OMV of an electric car for BIK tax purposes is reduced to €35,000 in 2023; €20,000 in 2024; and €10,000 in 2025.
Any portion of OMV remaining after the cut is applied will be borne by BIK, Ms Ryan said. If the OMV of your company car is €50,000, you can reduce the OMV to a maximum of €15,000 in 2023.
Since electric cars will have a BIK rate of 22.5% from 2023, the cash equivalent of your use of the company car for 2023 would be €3,375 and this amount would be subject to income tax, PRSI and the Universal Social Charge (USC).
https://www.independent.ie/business/personal-finance/your-personal-finance-questions-i-worked-in-england-so-can-i-get-a-pension-from-there-as-well-42209190.html Your personal financial questions – I worked in England, can I get a pension there too?
