Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 section 29

Rates of optional contributions and related matters

Section 29 sets out how optional PRSI contributions are calculated, the consequences of paying or underpaying them, and which social welfare benefits they count towards.

• Optional contributors pay 4.1% of reckonable income above €2,500 from the previous year, or €200, whichever is greater
• Paying the full amount due gives credit for every week of that contribution year; paying less means no weeks are credited at all
• Optional contributions only count towards illness benefit, jobseeker's benefit, jobseeker's benefit (self-employed) and treatment benefit
• Even for those four benefits, all outstanding optional contributions must be fully paid before any contribution conditions are satisfied