James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

664. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans to increase the allowance for savings as means for non-contributory pension applicants. [42629/17]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

In assessing means for social assistance payments, account is taken of the income and the value of capital and property of the claimant.Social welfare legislation provides that the yearly value of property (including capital) owned but not personally used or enjoyed is assessable for social assistance payments. Such property includes all monies held in financial institutions or otherwise, the market value of shares and houses and premises owned by a claimant which may or may not be put to commercial use. However, it does not include property such as the family home or, for example, a premises used by the claimant in carrying out a business.

For assessment purposes, savings are assessed in the following way:

Capital – Assessment Formula

It should be noted that, for the purposes of the State Pension Non-Contributory (SPNC), the amounts above are doubled in the case of a couple. In addition, the SPNC has a general means disregard of €30 per week.

This means that a single claimant of SPNC with no other income can have savings of €40,000 (which would result in a weekly means assessment from capital of €30) and this would have no impact on their SPNC payment. Similarly, a SPNC claimant who is one of a couple can have savings of €80,000 (and no other means) and the claimant would still receive the maximum weekly rate of SPNC. Note that each member of the couple is assessed with half of the total property and income of the couple.

Furthermore, no account is taken of interest or dividend payments received in the means assessment. The assessment formula reflects the fact that there is an expectation that persons with reasonable amounts of capital and property are in a position to use that capital or to realise the value of property to support themselves without having to rely solely on a means-tested welfare payment. If the threshold were to be increased, the people who would benefit would be those who had higher levels of income or assets.

Any changes to the current arrangements would have to be considered in an overall policy and Budgetary context.