Of course it will, David and I’m sure I mentioned this previously (appreciate things can get lost between threads though!)
We don’t have your figures, however here’s a table of the rates. The rates below apply on both State and early retirement pensions.
You’ll see clearly that if your income was say 20K, you’d be in the 0% bracket if a couple, and 3.8% if single. You’ll be able to do the arithmetic on your income yourself to see if the change from couple to single comes within your 1600 figure. My rough calculation might be 20K per year at 3.8% is 200 x 4 = 800 / year so x2 = 1600 so seems to fit somewhat.
The table -
For a single person and married couples (or those in a civil partnership) the CSG rates and income limits for 2026 (2024 income) are as follows:
| Rate | Single Person | Couple |
|---|---|---|
| 0% | <€13,048 | <€20,016 |
| 3.8% | <€17,057 | <€26,167 |
| 6.6% | <€26,472 | <€40,604 |
| 8.3% | >€26,472 | >€40,604 |
source link -