I returned from London in 1990 to work with a company in the property sector which had been set up shortly before my return. However, the business went into liquidation in April 1991.
In my time with them, the company had deducted PRSI from my salary.
However, in checking my contributions there is nothing for the years 1990 to 1992 on my social welfare. I do recall receiving an amount from the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), which was based in Adelaide Street.
If I can recover these contributions it will put me in a slightly higher bracket. I have been told anecdotally that were I to get a sworn affidavit from old work colleagues it may help. Is that so? What else can I do to make my case?
PL
Pay-Related Social Insurance (PRSI), like income tax, is something that most of us just assume is working as it should do – until it isn’t. Deducted at source, it is critical in establishing a record that helps us qualify for a State pension but also for a raft of other benefits from the State that workers might require in times of crisis.
But the only way to confirm exactly what PRSI credits you have built up over your working life is to apply to the Department of Social Protection’s records section. They will send anyone a copy of their record.
The easiest way to get in touch is via email at contributionstatement@welfare.ie but if you prefer you can write to them at: Records Section, Department of Social Protection, McCarters Road, Buncrana, Co Donegal.
In your case, this is old news as you have already secured a copy of your record – and noticed that nothing is credited to your record for the period when you were employed by this company – but it might help others.
Apart from producing copies of your PRSI record, this is also the office that follows up reports of missing contributions.
They check their own department files and those of Revenue covering both you and the employer. It’s rare but mistakes do happen especially in a business that sounds like it was somewhat chaotic at the time.
If that does not resolve things then that office may, at its discretion, appoint a social welfare inspector to investigate the case further.
What can they do? Well, in cases like yours if they cannot find documentary evidence that you were employed, when and in what capacity, they will likely interview you and then send a recommendation to the department.
What that recommendation is will largely be based on how reliable the inspector considers your recollection of your time with the company.
This is where a statement from former colleagues could come in useful. The Department of Social Protection tells me these statements do not need to be sworn affidavits though they should be in writing.
[ Paying voluntary PRSI contributions to get closer to full State pension ]
Certainly a statement from a former colleague confirming you worked with them in the business and any details they can provide around that would be helpful and would be taken into account in any recommendation the inspector eventually makes.
It might even enlighten the department on gaps in the company’s paperwork and filings on matters such as PRSI.
I have anonymised the business concerned, which certainly does not seem to have been a very successful endeavour. Established in 1998 by a group of professionals, it was in trouble by 1991 and in liquidation from early 1993. I doubt it appears on the CVs of the individuals who were involved with it at that time.
Your problem here is that we are talking about a business that shut almost 33 years ago. One has to assume that most of the principals of the business are long retired, if they are even alive.
You mention a hearing a ruling from the WRC, which saw you receive a payment, but I cannot conceive of any situation where the WRC would order a payment in lieu of social insurance contributions.
The online records of that institution go back only to 1996, so I cannot track down your case there.
However, alongside the possibility of having former colleagues corroborate your recollection, it does appear that the liquidator of the business is still working, although the company he was with at the time has been subsumed several times in successive consolidations of the sector. It may be he still has files that could be of use to you or to an inspector from the Department of Social Protection.
Either way, I expect the inspector would certainly be interested in contacted him to seek further clarity, not least on the company’s paperwork.
Given we are talking about a business that folded so long ago, I think you are rather fortunate to have former colleagues and a liquidator around to try to unravel what happened your 15 months of PRSI contributions from that time – not least as you say it will make a difference to the amount of State pension you will receive.
You are certainly in a better position than other similar cases I have come across where no records can be traced and no one connected with the business is still living.
At this point, you need to get back on to the records office of the Department of Social Protection to challenge the record they have made available to you and to advise them of the people available who might be able to corroborate your position and to request the appointment of an inspector.
Hopefully, the evidence available will help persuade them that the appointment is justified even if the sums involved are not huge.
Please send your queries to Dominic Coyle, Q&A, The Irish Times, 24-28 Tara Street, Dublin 2, or by email to dominic.coyle@irishtimes.com with a contact phone number. This column is a reader service and is not intended to replace professional advice
