Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 October 2017
248. Deputy Willie Penrose asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the assessment procedure for jobseeker's allowance in terms of capital savings which a person can have in a financial institution either in their own name or held in a person's own name or jointly with their spouse in terms of their eligibility for jobseeker's allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44438/17]
View answerIn assessing means for social assistance payments including jobseeker’s allowance, account is taken of the value of capital and property belonging to the person and their spouse or partner. Capital includes moneys on hands or deposited in financial institutions while property includes the value of other assets such as bonds and equities as well as houses and other premises. Property such as the family home or a premises used by a person in carrying out a business is not liable for assessment.
The capital assessment method for jobseeker’s allowance and most social assistance schemes (such as farm assist, one parent family payment and the state pension non-contributory) involves disregarding an initial amount of capital/savings and applying an increasing notional weekly value for amounts in excess of the disregarded amount, as outlined in the table. The same assessment of capital applies to capital/savings in the name of the claimant and his or her spouse/partner.
Table: Social Welfare Capital Means Assessment (excluding Supplementary Welfare Allowance and Disability Allowance)
|
AMOUNT OF CAPITAL |
WEEKLY MEANS ASSESSED |
|
Up to €20,000 |
Nil |
|
€20,000 - €30,000 |
€1 per each €1,000 |
|
€30,000 - €40,000 |
€2 per each €1,000 |
|
Over €40,000 |
€4 per each €1,000 |
The weekly entitlement of the claimant is the maximum weekly rate of payment for the person less the means calculated. For a couple with no dependent children, the current rate of jobseeker’s allowance (JA) is €321.10 per week (i.e. €193 per week personal rate and €128.10 increase for a qualified adult). For each dependent child, the rate payable increases by €29.80 per week. The amount of JA payable is the rate of JA for the relevant family (i.e. personal rate, increase for a qualified adult, if relevant, and any increases for qualified children) minus the means available to the couple.
This means that a couple on JA can have €20,000 in savings and be assessed with nil means from capital and receive the maximum weekly rate of JA, while a couple with savings of €30,000 would be assessed with €10 of capital means. A couple with savings of €100,000 and no other means would be assessed with weekly means of €270 and still receive a payment of €51.10 per week. In this regard, a couple with no dependent children can have savings in excess of €110,000 and still receive a minimal payment of JA.
I was pleased to announce on Budget Day last week that there will be a €5 increase in the weekly personal rates of payment, with proportionate increases for qualified adults from the last week of March 2018. In this regard, the weekly personal rate of JA will increase to €198 per week and the increase for qualified adults will increase to €131.40 per week. In addition, the increase for qualified children will also rise by €2 to €31.80 per child per week from the end of March.
