Means-Tested Social Welfare Payment
Social Welfare payments are broadly divided into three types:
- Contributory payments are based on your Pay-Related Social Insurance (PRSI) record. Whether you qualify for a payment depends on having a certain number of PRSI contributions. These types of payments are commonly referred to as Social Insurance payments.
- Non-contributory payments require you to satisfy a means-test and be an ongoing resident in the State. These types of payments are commonly referred to as Social Assistance payments.
- Payments and benefits such as Child Benefit and Free Travel do not depend on PRSI contributions or means.
Only means-tested social assistance payments count as a HEAR indicator.
The most common means-tested social assistance payments are:
- Carer’s Allowance
- Disability Allowance
- Farm Assist
- Working Family Payment (WFP) (formerly know as Family Income Support, FIS)
- Jobseeker’s Allowance (JA)
- One-Parent Family Payment (OFP)
- State Pension (Non-Contributory)
Other acceptable means-tested social assistance payments are:
- Back to Work Enterprise Allowance – Self-employed year 2-4
- Back to Work PAYE work
- Deserted Wife’s Allowance
- Guardian’s Payment (Non-Contributory)
- Jobseeker’s Transitional Payment
- Part-Time Job Incentive Scheme
- Pre-Retirement Allowance (PRETA)
- Prisoner’s Wife Allowance
- Blind Pension
- Rent Allowance
- Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA)2
- Widow’s or Widower’s (Non-Contributory) Pension
Applicants meeting Indicator 3 must meet a combination of 2 other indicators as listed below:
INDICATOR 1 plus 3 plus 4
INDICATOR 1 plus 3 plus 5
INDICATOR 1 plus 3 plus 6