Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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90. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she plans to amend the process by which joint savings are assessed as part of the means assessment for dependent adults of recipients of the State pension (contributory); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40762/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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A recipient of the State Pension (Contributory) can claim an increase in their pension in respect of a Qualified Adult. A Qualified Adult is the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of the pensioner who is being wholly or mainly maintained by that pensioner.

Only the spouse or partner of the claimant is subject to a means test. An increase is payable at the maximum rate of payment where the means of the spouse or partner are €100 a week or less, while reduced rates are payable where the means are over €100 and less than €310 per week. No increase is payable where the means of the spouse/partner are in excess of €310 per week.

The means assessed are those of the spouse or partner only, and include:

- income from employment and self-employment;

- income from non-social welfare pensions; and

- the capital value of property other than the family home, as well as savings.

Where savings or assets are held jointly, the spouse or partner's means is taken to be half of the total amount.

When calculating the weekly means from savings, an assessment formula is used. The first €20,000 of capital is fully disregarded; the next €10,000 assessed at €1 per thousand, the next €10,000 is assessed at €2 per thousand, with the remainder assessed at €4 per thousand.

Assuming no other means, a spouse/partner can have savings or other capital of up to €57,500 without affecting entitlement to a Qualified Adult increase payable at the maximum weekly rate. Tapered reduced rates of Qualified Adult increase can continue to be payable where the spouse/partner has capital of up to €110,000.

It should be noted that the value of the family home, regardless of who is the legal owner, is never taken into account in this assessment.

The means assessment reflects the fact that there is an expectation that people with reasonable amounts of income or capital are in a position to use those resources to support themselves so that social welfare expenditure can be directed towards those who need it most.

Any proposals to change the means assessment formula for an Increase for a Qualified Adult on the State Pension (Contributory) would have to be considered in an overall budgetary and policy context.