Means Tests II

Deemed Income on Capital

The deemed income on capital for the purpose of jobseekers’ allowance, pre-retirement allowance or the Farm Assist as follows:

• €20,000 to €30,000 5.2percent.
• €20, 000 to €30,000 5.2 percent.
• €30,000 to €40,000 10.4%.
• Over €40,000 20.8%.

In the case of disability allowance, the permitted amounts of capital which is not assessed is higher €50,000.

In the case of supplementary welfare allowance the exclusions are much lower (€5,000) with €15,000 to €40,000 a rate of 10.4 percent applies 20.8 percent applies over €40,000.

Exclusions

The general excluded income subject to modification in means test include certain social welfare payments.

• Child benefit.
• Homecare and domiciliary care allowance,
• home tuition scheme allowance from the Department of Education.
• Mobility allowance from the Health Department.
• Training allowance while undergoing rehabilitation.
• HSE payments for boarded out  child.
• Payment in respect of certain person’s boarded out from nursing homes.
• Benefit of certain home help provided by the HSE or other approved person,
• Income from a person who is temporarily resident under schemes for learning Irish.
• Monies received from charities and non-profit organization.
• Monies from back to education, back to work, work enterprise loans and similar scheme.
• Monies received by a person’s spouse in respect of participation in training courses.
• Monies in respect of participation in vocational training opportunities scheme.
• Certain army disability and wounds pensions up to a maximum.
• The expenses necessarily incurred in self-employment.
• Infectious disease maintenance payments,
• other prescribed income.

Some of the above tables apply or are modified in respect of particular payment.

Partial Disregards

A partial disregard of means for relevant social assistance payments applies in the case of the assessment of income received under the Rural Environment Protection and the Special Areas of Conservation Schemes. The reference to the Special Areas of Conservation Scheme were deleted, as this scheme no longer applied. In addition to the Rural Environment Protection Scheme, two additional rural environmental and conservation schemes were included in the partial disregard of means

• the Agri-Environment Options Scheme, administered by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, and
• the National Parks and Wildlife Service Farm Plan Scheme, administered by the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.

Supplementary Welfare Allowance

The means test is more restrictive given that the payments function as a last resort.

There is a notional assessment of income from capital.  Unlike other schemes the only property disregarded is that personally used or enjoyed.

All income from cash and non-cash earnings and benefits is assessed.  The exclusions are much narrower than in other cases.  Actual household income is assessed including contributions to expenses of household.

There was exclusion for certain social welfare payment including guardian payments, respite care grant, blind persons grant or allowance, maintenance grant

In the case of supplementary welfare towards mortgage interest or rent payments, there are separate exclusions. As with other means tested payments income and assets which the person is directly or indirectly deprived himself of in order to qualify for supplementary welfare allowance are assessed.

Benefits in  kind calculated in the manner as may be prescribed, of persons under 25 by virtue of residing with parents, stepparents or relatives are assessed.

Housing costs paid by certain relatives are taken into account.  Where the claimant is over 65 and the combined household income is greater than the rate of supplementary welfare allowance the amount equals to the difference between the maximum state contributory pension and the rate of supplementary welfare allowance is disregarded.

Jobseekers

Jobseekers allowance may be available during a period of insurable  employment of a seasonal nature, in which case the income received by the claimant and spouse is assessed. Jobseekers’ allowance and pre-retirement may be available if a person works a certain number of days per week in the former case, or where a person still works although having reached retirement age in the latter case.

Where a person is employed, the value is calculated of monies received from the employment. The  value calculated is the weekly means from the employment. In the case of a seasonal job where a person employed is in insurable employment of a seasonal nature, the value of the monies derived from the employment is calculated as the weekly means.

In the case of farmer or spouse engaged in personal or seasonal employment the value ascertained of the monies received from employment constitutes the weekly means.  Similarly in the case of a fisherman the gross income derived from self-employment or in the case of a farmer the  gross yearly income which the farmer or his spouse may reasonably be expected to receive from farming less necessary expenses,

There are special rules for calculating the income available from other employment by the person concerned or his spouse in the case of jobseekers’ allowance, disability, pre-retirement and Farm Assists.  In the case of Farm Assist only 70 percent of the additional earnings are taken into account as means.The general rule is that the person’s income in the absence of other means of ascertaining it, is that  actually received in the preceding year.

In the case of a person in receipt of jobseekers’ allowance who has not reached the prescribed age (currently 25) the yearly value of the benefit enjoyed by that person by residing with a parent or stepparent may be calculated as a benefit. In the case of disability allowance the proceeds of sale of the principal residence shall not subject to  certain conditions and limits be taken into account. It is not disregarded if it is actually invested.

Financial Crisis Changes

The 2011 Act  amends the rules relating to the assessment of means for certain social assistance payments, including—

• the abolition of the income disregard for income from employment by the HSE as a Home Help in the case of all social assistance payment schemes, and
• increasing the proportion of income from farming and fishing assessed as means from 70% to 85%, for the purposes of the Farm Assist and Jobseeker’s Allowance schemes.

These amendments applied to both new and existing claimants of the relevant schemes with effect from 1 January 2012.It provides that for the purposes of calculating means for the One-Parent Family Payment the weekly earnings disregard is being decreased from €146.50 to €60 over a 5 year period commencing from 1 January 2012. The annual reductions in the weekly disregard applied  to both new and existing OPFP claimants.

Schedule 3 to the Social Welfare Consolidation Act sets out the rules for calculating means for social assistance payment purposes, including the specification of various types of income which are regarded as being assessable as means and the exclusion of various other types of income which are regarded as not being assessable as means

The 2015 Act  amends Schedule 3 to update a number of obsolete and outdated references to certain types of income which are excluded for means-testing purposes, i.e. student grants and income received from various rural environmental and conservation schemes. In the case of the exemption of income received by way of student grants, the current legislative basis for such grants is being updated in the light of the provisions of the Student Support Act 2011.