A claim for old age non-contributory pension from the person's spouse was disallowed on the grounds that her means, derived from his occupational pension, were above the limit for entitlement to a pension. Under social welfare legislation, decisions on claims must be made by statutorily appointed deciding officers and appeals officers. I have no role in making such decisions. Representations were received on behalf of the person concerned questioning the logic and rationale of the underlying legislation governing the means test and indicated that the person wished to appeal the decision. The Social Welfare Appeals Office indicated in a reply to these representations on 5 October 2001 that if, following an explanation of the underlying legislation, the person wished to have the claim referred to an appeals officer for consideration this would be arranged. A full reply to the person making the representations, dealing with the general policy and legislative issues raised, was issued from my office on 18 October. No further communication was received. If the person concerned wishes to pursue an appeal he should contact the Social Welfare Appeals office.
Means tested schemes are an important part of the social welfare system as they provide basic payments for people who do not have the necessary social insurance to qualify for contributory payments but who can satisfy a means test. The schemes are designed and intended to ensure that resources are directed to those who are most in need. In the case of couples where one or both are claiming a social assistance payment the overall means of the household are counted to determine each individual's means. In the case of old age non-contributory pension this is done through rule 4(a) of Part II of the Third Schedule of the Social Welfare Act, 1983, which provides that "the means of the person shall be taken to be one half of the total means of the couple".