Deirdre Clune
Question:85 Ms Clune asked the Minister for Finance the provisions made in budget 2000 for people over 65; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26517/99]
Written Answers. - Budget Provisions.
In accordance with the Government's commitment in An Action Programme for the Millennium to introduce further improvements in the tax treatment of older people, the following taxation provisions have been made in Budget 2000 for elderly people.
The age exemption limits for those aged 65 and over will be increased by £1,000 single/£2,000 married, so that the threshold for elderly people entering the tax net is now £7,500 single/£15,000 married, equivalent to £144 per week single/£288 per week married. This means that in my three budgets I have increased the exemption limits for the elderly by up to two-thirds. The new increases will take almost 10,000 taxpayers aged 65 and over out of the tax net. The age allowance, which is available to taxpayers aged 65 and over, will be doubled to £800 single/£1,600 married and standard rated. This will benefit standard rate taxpayers by up to £80 single/£160 married per annum. Rent relief for those aged 55 and over will be doubled to £2,000 single/£3,000 widowed/£4,000 married and standard rated. Since 80 per cent of those on the relief are standard rate taxpayers, this amounts in effect to a doubling of the relief for four out of five claimants.
People aged 65 and over will also benefit from the general changes in taxation announced in the Budget, that is, the 2% reduction in both the standard and top rates of tax, the widening of the standard rate tax bands for single-two earner married couples and the increase in the personal allowances by £500 single/£1,000 married. Where applicable they will also be able to benefit from the increases in the widowed persons allowance.
As I have stated in my budget speech, older people have been and remain a priority. On the social welfare side, the principal rate improvement in respect of older people within the context of budget 2000 is the increase of £7 per week in the full personal rate of old age and related pensions. There is a weekly increase of £4.70 for the qualified adult allowance on retirement and old age contributory pensions for those over 66 years. This represents an £11.70 weekly increase for old age contributory pensioner couples. There is a special catch-up increase of £7.50 for the qualified adult allowance of non-contributory old age pensioners, giving a total increase of £14.50 for those couples. The weekly payment increases are to be paid four weeks earlier. On the non-rates side, a change was made in the method of assessing capital for the means test for entitlement to social assistance payments, other than for unemployment assistance and supplementary welfare allowance. The free schemes are to be extended to all people over 75 years regardless of income and household composition. The tapered withdrawal of qualified adult allowance is improved and extended to old age contributory pensions and retirement pensions. Widows and widowers with the fuel allowance will be able to retain it when transferring to the old age contributory pension. The Social Welfare Bill will include measures to improve the position of those whose pensions are affected by present treatment of pre-1953 social insurance contributions.