The UK State Pension and the Irish State Pension: getting both in Dublin

Good news first: Ireland is one of the countries where your UK State Pension goes up every April, and your Irish PRSI years can earn you a second pension on top.

The short version

• Ireland is on DWP's list of countries where the UK pays the yearly State Pension increase, so your UK pension isn't frozen in Dublin [1][2].
• The full new UK State Pension is £241.30 a week in 2026/27 [3].
• The Irish State Pension (Contributory) is paid from 66 and needs at least 520 full-rate PRSI contributions, about 10 years [4][5].
• The top Irish rate at 66 is €299.30 a week in 2026, and Budget 2027 adds €10 from January 2027 [4].
• UK National Insurance and Irish PRSI can be combined to help you qualify, and each country then pays its own share [5][6].

Pound conversions use the Bank of England spot rate of 5 November 2026 (£1 = EUR 1.20).

Why your UK State Pension isn't frozen in Ireland

The rule that freezes the State Pension for Brits in Australia, Canada and New Zealand doesn't bite here. DWP pays the annual increase to pensioners living in the EEA and Switzerland, and Ireland is on that list [2]. GOV.UK confirms that the pension "will only increase each year" if you live in one of those places [1].

So if you retire to Dún Laoghaire or Drumcondra, your UK State Pension rises every April exactly as it would back home in Blighty. Under the triple lock that has meant decent rises in recent years: the full new State Pension went from £230.25 a week in 2025/26 to £241.30 in 2026/27 [3]. At our rate, £241.30 is about €290 a week.

To get the full new State Pension you usually need 35 qualifying years on your UK National Insurance record [7]. Fewer years means a smaller pension, and you need at least some qualifying years to get anything. Check your forecast on GOV.UK before you think about filling gaps.

Can you still top up your UK record from Dublin?

Often, yes. Many Brits in Ireland pay voluntary Class 3 contributions, or Class 2 if they qualify, to fill gaps on their UK record. There are conditions about how long you lived or paid in the UK before you left, and it isn't always worth it, especially if your Irish PRSI years already count towards a UK pension under the coordination rules. Our guide to voluntary National Insurance from abroad walks through who can pay and how.

The Irish State Pension (Contributory) in 2026

Ireland's main pension is the State Pension (Contributory), paid by the Department of Social Protection. It isn't means-tested, so you can keep working or draw a private pension alongside it [4][5].

To qualify you must [4]:

1. Be 66 or older.
2. Have started paying PRSI at least 10 years before you draw the pension. If you claim at 66, that means starting before 56.
3. Have at least 520 full-rate PRSI contributions (roughly 10 years of work in Ireland).

People born on or after 1 January 1958 can choose when to start, at any age from 66 to 70, and get a higher rate for waiting [4][5].

Source: Citizens Information, rates for 2026 [4]. From January 2027 the maximum rate rises by €10 under Budget 2027, with proportionate rises for reduced rates [4].

How the rate is worked out

This is where it gets a bit of a minefield. Ireland is moving to the Total Contributions Approach (TCA): you need 2,080 contributions (about 40 years) for the maximum, and fewer contributions earn a percentage of it. With 1,040 contributions, for example, you'd get 50% [4].

During a transition from 2025 to 2034, the department also works out a blended rate using the old Yearly Average method and pays whichever is higher [4][8]. Someone starting their pension in 2026 gets the better of the pure TCA rate or 80% Yearly Average plus 20% TCA [4]. By 2034 everyone will be on TCA alone.

Combining UK and Irish contributions

Most Brits in Dublin have a mixed record: some years of National Insurance back home and some years of PRSI here. The two systems talk to each other.

The Irish department says you may qualify even without enough Irish contributions if you also worked in an EU or EEA country, or in a country with a two-way social security agreement with Ireland, and that UK contributions can count under those rules [5]. In practice:

• Each country checks whether you qualify, counting the other country's years where its own record falls short. Your UK years can help you reach Ireland's 520-contribution threshold, and vice versa.
• Each country then pays only for its own years. If UK years were used to get you over the line in Ireland, you get a pro rata Irish pension that reflects the share of your career spent paying PRSI [5].
• You don't lose the UK pension. Your UK record still earns a UK State Pension in its own right, uprated every year while you live in Ireland.

A worked example: Sarah from Leeds worked 25 years in the UK, then moved to Dublin at 50 and paid PRSI for 16 years before turning 66. She gets a UK State Pension based on her 25 UK years, rising each April. She also has more than 520 Irish contributions, so she qualifies for an Irish pension, calculated on her Irish record (or pro rata if that helps her). Two pensions, both paid to the same Bank of Ireland account if she likes.

How to claim both pensions from Dublin

You won't get either pension automatically, so put a note in the diary.

1. Check your UK forecast on GOV.UK and order your Irish contribution statement on MyWelfare.ie [4].
2. Claim the Irish pension about six months early. The department recommends applying six months before you want payments to start. Use MyWelfare (you need a verified MyGovID) or the paper SPC1 form, sent to the State Pension (Contributory) Section in Sligo [5].
3. Claim the UK pension within four months of your UK State Pension age. Contact the International Pension Centre or send it the international claim form [6].
4. Mention both countries on both claims. Give your National Insurance number on the Irish claim and your PPS number on the UK one. GOV.UK suggests asking the pension authority where you live, as it may notify the other schemes [6].
5. Choose where the money goes. DWP can pay your UK pension into an Irish bank account in euros, or into a UK account [1].

If you claim late, Ireland only backdates up to six months before it receives your application, so don't leave it [5].

Tax, and the other things to sort

Both pensions are paid without tax taken off at source. The Irish pension is taxable, though you're unlikely to pay tax if it's your only income [5]. Once you're resident in Ireland, Ireland generally taxes your UK State Pension too, under the UK–Ireland double taxation agreement, and you'll need to include it in your Irish return. Our guide to Irish taxes for Brits covers Revenue's side, and a tax adviser who knows both countries can check your case.

A few loose ends:

• UK workplace and private pensions are a separate matter. Never move one without regulated financial advice; our guide to UK workplace and private pensions abroad explains the transfer warnings.
• Life certificates. DWP may post you one now and then. Sign it, get it witnessed and send it back promptly, or payments can be paused.
• Moving on later? If you leave Ireland for somewhere that's not on the uprating list, your UK pension freezes from that point.

If you want to swap notes with other retirees who've been through the paperwork, our community group for Brits in Ireland is a friendly place to ask.

Sources

1. GOV.UK: State Pension if you retire abroad – how your pension is affected
2. GOV.UK (DWP): Countries where we pay an annual increase in the State Pension
3. GOV.UK (DWP): Benefit and pension rates 2026 to 2027
4. Citizens Information: Applying for the State Pension (Contributory) (edited 8 October 2026)
5. gov.ie (Department of Social Protection): State Pension (Contributory)
6. GOV.UK: State Pension if you retire abroad – how to claim
7. GOV.UK: The new State Pension – what you'll get
8. gov.ie: Changes to the State Pension (Contributory) – what you need to know

Keep reading

• Working for a UK employer from Dublin: tax and PRSI
• Irish taxes for Brits
• The UK State Pension abroad: frozen or uprated?
• Voluntary National Insurance from abroad: Class 2 vs Class 3