Social insurance classes

Introduction

People in employment in Ireland pay contributions to the Irish Social Insurance Fund. The contribution you pay depends on your earnings and occupation and therefore it is called Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI) contribution.  There are currently 11 different PRSI Classes, they are A, B, C, D, E, H, J, K, M, S and P. The social insurance payments to which you may become entitled to will depend on the PRSI Class you are in.

There is a wide range of payments available to people who have paid social insurance. If you are not a Class A contributor this means that you are not entitled to the full range of social insurance payments. This is because you are paying less towards social insurance than a Class A contributor. In certain cases, if your income falls below a certain amount you do not have to pay a social insurance contribution, however, you will still be covered by social insurance because your employer must pay social insurance for you. More information is available in our document about your Employer's duty to pay social insurance.

Each PRSI Class is in turn divided into different categories, for example, Class A is sub-divided into categories A1, A2, A8, A9, AO and AX. These categories do not affect your entitlements under the social insurance system. They only relate to the amount of PRSI or health levy which you must pay or which your employer must pay. Exemption from payment of the health levy applies to employees in all classes where the reckonable earnings in any week are €500 or less.

Reckonable earnings are your gross pay minus any payment made to a pension scheme and a permanent health insurance scheme recognised by Revenue.

PRSI contribution week

Your working week may not be the same as the PRSI contribution week.  The PRSI contribution week starts on the 1 January each year. Week one is the period from the 1 January to the 7 January, week two is from the 8 January to 14 January and so on. For 2009, the contribution week starts on Thursday and ends on Wednesday. In 2010, the contribution week starts on Friday and ends on Thursday.  The contribution week can affect the social insurance cover of part-time workers and people job-sharing.

Rules

PRSI Classes and people insured in each Class

Class A applies to people in industrial, commercial and service type employment who are employed under a contract of service with a reckonable pay of €38 or more per week from employment. It also includes civil and public servants recruited from 6 April 1995.  In fact, most employees in Ireland pay PRSI Class A. 

• A1 applies to employees who have reckonable earnings in excess of €500 per week 
• A2 applies to employees who hold medical cards and those getting Widow's/Widower's Pension, Deserted Wife's payment or One-Parent Family Payment and are earning more than €500 per week
• A8 was introduced in April 2000 for Community Employment workers earning less than €352 per week
• A9 was introduced in April 1996 for Community Employment workers earning more than €352 per week
• AO applies to employees, including medical card holders and those getting Widow's/Widower's Pension, Deserted Wife's or One-Parent Family Payment, with earnings between €38 and €352 per week are category AO
• AX applies to employees with earnings of between €352.01 and €356 per week
• AL is a new class introduced from January 2005 for employees on reckonable earnings in any week that they earn between €356.01 and €500 inclusive. The employee is not liable for the 4% Health Contribution. However, the employer's share of the contribution remains at 10.75%.

Class A does not apply to people in insurable employment and over 66 years of age. They are insurable under Class J.

You can get Further information about social insurance classes and the occupations covered by each class

Rates

How much social insurance (PRSI) must I pay?

The amount of PRSI you pay will depend on your earnings and the class you are insured under. Here is an example:
For employees insured under Class A, the amount you pay is as follows:

If you earn less than €352 gross per week (before tax is deducted), you will not pay any social insurance. This does not mean that you are not getting a contribution. You are still covered by Class A social insurance because your employer is paying social insurance on your behalf.

If you earn between €352 and €500 per week, the first €127 of your earnings will be ignored and you will pay 4% on anything over that amount. If you are earning over €75,036 you will not pay social insurance on the income above this amount.

If you earn more than €500 per week and pay a Class A2 contribution (this applies to medical card holders and people getting certain social welfare payments), the first €127 of your earnings will be ignored and you will pay 4% on anything over that amount up to a maximum of €75,036 per year. You will not pay PRSI on any earnings above €75,036.  

If you earn over €500 per week, the amount of your earnings which are deducted under the PRSI system may also include an amount called the health levy. If you pay the health levy and PRSI, the total amount deducted each week will be 4% on earnings up to €127, 8% on earnings between €127.01 and €1,443 and 9% on the balance. Once you reach the PRSI ceiling of €75,036 you will stop paying PRSI but will continue to pay the health levy.

For people insured under other classes, the amount of PRSI they pay will vary. The health levy applies to Class A, J, B, C, D, H, K and S.

Social insurance (PRSI) refunds

If the wrong rate of PRSI is deducted from your wages you are entitled to a refund. There are a number of reasons why you might be paying the wrong PRSI rate. For example, your employer may not be aware that you have a medical card and should not be paying the health levy.

To get a refund either you or your employer should contact the Refunds Section in the Department of Social Protection - see 'Where to apply' below. You will be sent a refund application form to fill out. If you have paid too much PRSI you will get a refund and the Department will correct your social insurance record. 

How to apply

If you are an employee, before you get your wages your employer will deduct your social insurance contribution. Your employer then submits your contribution and the employer's PRSI contribution to the Revenue Commissioners. Your employer will also pay social insurance on your behalf. 

If you are self-employed, you pay Class S social insurance. In this case, you pay your social insurance contributions directly to the Revenue Commissioners.

The Revenue Commissioners then pay the money into the Social Insurance Fund. A record of the contributions you have paid is then sent to the Department of Social Protection.

Where to apply