More than 45,000 get State pension abroad

MORE than 45,000 people receive an Irish state pension outside of Ireland, new figures show.

The numbers from the Department of Social Protection show a sharp increase from just 32,000 four years ago. And the payments are going to 99 countries, up from 65 in 2013.

Many of these people are Irish people retired abroad, but others could be non-nationals who worked in Ireland and made tax payments toward the contributory pension.

The most popular country for receiving the Irish contributory pension as of April this year is the UK, followed by the US, Australia, Canada and Spain. The widow’s or widower’s pension is paid out most often in the UK followed by America, Australia and Poland.

The contributory state pension is a weekly payment of a maximum of €233.30 and is dependent on the number of tax contributions the individual has made toward it.

The widow’s and widower’s payment is also dependent on the number of contributions and is capped at €198.50 per week.