For the majority of people living and working on the island of Ireland, social security coordination rules are most often found in one of three agreements:

1. EU / UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement
   Links post-Brexit cross-border workers to the new EU/UK trade deal, and which largely follows EU Regulation 883, but with a few deficits i.e., family benefits, unemployment benefit and invalidity benefits can no longer be exported.
2. EU / UK Withdrawal Agreement
   This continues to link pre-Brexit workers (where cross-border work or self-employment predates 1 January 2021 and remains unchanged since) to EU Regulation 883.
3. Common Travel Area Social Security Convention
   Which more closely follows EU Regulation 883 but omits healthcare provisions for cross-border workers and is only applicable on a bilateral basis to Irish and British (post-EU exit) cross-border workers and extended by Ireland on a unilateral basis to include EU cross-border workers living in NI but working in Ireland .

Source:  All-island labour market study 2024 / social security chapter page 62

Please note that when applying for social welfare payments the Irish and UK authorities will consider which rules apply, this happens behind the scenes and it isn’t something that most people and workers need to be aware of.

Page last checked: 12 November 2024

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