Actuarial Review of the Social Insurance Fund 2005 - Department of ...

Appendix ASummary of Benefits & Contributions of the FundThe Social Insurance Fund provides benefits thatare earned on the basis of entitlements from aperson’s Pay-Related Social Insurance (PRSI) record.In addition to minimum contribution requirements,each benefit has specific criteria that need tobe satisfied before the benefit can be paid. Thissummary does not include social assistance benefits- which are means-tested.Benefits can be split between long- andshort-term benefits, as follows:a) short-term benefits include jobseeker’s,maternity, adoptive, illness, carer’s, health andsafety, redundancy and insolvency, the guardian’spayment, the bereavement grant, the widowedparent grant and treatment benefits, andb) long-term benefits include the State pension(transition and contributory), widow’s/widower’s,deserted wife’s, invalidity, and occupationalinjury benefits such as injury, disablement,medical expenses and death benefits.The household benefits package (gas/electricity,telephone allowances and free television licence)may be payable in addition to these payments.As details of the benefit and contribution levels forthe 2007 tax year are available at the time of thereview, they have been used and are detailed below.ContributionsPRSI contributions are payable by employees,employers and the self-employed. Some lowincomeworkers are, however, exempt from PRSIliability. Contributions are payable as a percentageof weekly earnings above a threshold and includea health levy - although the health levy is notattributable to the Social Insurance Fund.Credits for benefit entitlements are grantedin respect of each weekly contribution made.However, some contribution classes are not eligiblefor all of the benefits. Under certain conditions,voluntary contributions can be paid to purchasecredits for some of the long-term benefits.The main PRSI contribution classes are as follows:n Class A: People in industrial, commercial andservice-type employment who are employedunder a contract of service with reckonable payof €38 or more per week, as well as Civil andPublic Servants recruited from 6 April, 1995.Contributions count towards entitlement to allsocial insurance benefits.n Classes B, C and D: Permanent and pensionableCivil Servants recruited prior to 6 April, 1995(including Gardai, Commissioned Army Officers,members of the Army Nursing Service andRegistered Doctors and Dentists employed inthe Civil Service. Contributions count towardsentitlement to the Widow’s/Widower’s(Contributory) Pension, the Guardian's Payment(Contributory), the Bereavement Grant,Carer’s Benefit and, except for Class C, certainOccupational Injuries Benefits.n Class H: NCOs and enlisted personnel of theDefence Forces. Contributions count towardsentitlement to all social insurance benefitsexcept for Occupational Injuries Benefits.n Class J: People with reckonable earnings of lessthan €38 per week from all employments plusa small number of employees - irrespective ofhow much they earn (e.g. those above the age of66 or in subsidiary employment). Contributionscount towards entitlement to OccupationalInjuries Benefits only.n Class S: Self-employed people, including certaincompany directors, people in business on theirown account and people with income frominvestments and rents. Contributions counttowards entitlement to the Widow’s/Widower’s(Contributory) Pension, the Guardian’s Payment(Contributory), Maternity Benefit, AdoptiveBenefit, the Bereavement Grant and the StatePension (Contributory).Appendix A64