Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 23 May 2013
41. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Finance the tax relief available on pension contributions to a person who has a workplace pension, but who also makes contributions to another pension scheme for which they have no associated income payments. [24926/13]
View answerI am assuming that the question is referring to a situation where an employee is making pension contributions to his or her employer sponsored occupational pension scheme and is also making contributions to a personal pension plan in respect of which the individual does not have a source of relevant earnings against which to claim relief on the contributions. I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that a possible scenario in which such a situation could arise would be where, in addition to paying contributions to an occupational pension scheme, an individual is also making contributions to a PRSA (other than to an AVC PRSA associated with the occupational pension scheme). A PRSA can be effected by anyone with or without a source of relevant earnings, which, in the context of PRSAs, in essence means earnings from employment or from a self-employed trade or profession. However, tax relief on any contributions made is dependent on the existence of an amount of relevant earnings. Where an individual is already in pensionable employment, his or her employment earnings would not, however, constitute relevant earnings for the purposes of tax relief on contributions to a PRSA. If no relevant earnings exist, the PRSA contributions can be carried forward indefinitely for set-off against future relevant earnings, subject to whatever limits apply to tax-relieved pension contributions in those future years.
I am further advised by the Commissioners that information, with examples, on how tax relief for pension contributions operates in practice is set out in Revenue eBrief 74/2009 which can be accessed on the Revenue website www.revenue.ie.
Finally, should the person to whom the Deputy’s question relates have any further queries regarding tax relief on pension contributions as it affects their particular circumstances, they might forward those queries to the Financial Services (Pensions) Unit of the Revenue Commissioners either by email to lcdretirebens@revenue.ie or in writing to the following address Financial Services (Pensions), Large Cases Division, Ballaugh House, 73/79 Lower Mount Street, Dublin 2.
