The employee PRSI ceiling is reviewed annually in accordance with the legislative stipulations of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 2005. The legislation requires the Minister to take into account any changes in the average earnings of workers in the transportable good industries as recorded by the Central Statistics Office since the ceiling was previously reviewed.
The current employee PRSI ceiling stands at €46,600 per annum. It is estimated that the abolition of this ceiling would yield some €238.2 million in additional revenue to the social insurance fund in a full year.
This estimate is based on the most recent available data — a sample of cases of employee records from 2003 that has been updated to take into account changes in earnings and in the number of contributors since.
Revisions to PRSI exemptions, thresholds and the ceiling are considered annually in a budgetary context.