# Invalidity Pension -How often means tested?



## IsleOfMan

How much income can a person have per annum before their Invalidity Pension is reduced?  The reason I ask this is that my father has savings of about €50k that is producing an income of circa 5% per annum or about €2.5k in interest per annum. DIRT is reducing this to about €2k or €38 per week. He has no other income other than Illness benefit and has been requested to switch to Invalidity pension.

Is it the capital sum of €50k that is taken in to consideration or the interest received from this sum? 

With interest rates falling, his interest income next year will be reduced. Does he have to be means tested every time the interest rate drops or how does this work?


----------



## Welfarite

Invalidity Pension is a contribution-based pension and therefore there is no means test involved: amount of savings does not affect your father's pension rate.


----------



## IsleOfMan

Thanks for that. If he were to make a claim for a fuel allowance or other benefits such as Free Travel and Electricity Allowance would his €50k in savings be counted or is it the interest income from the €50k savings that is counted?  With interest rates dropping he will be getting very little income from this sum.


----------



## Black Sheep

The Electricity,TV.and Telephone package is not means tested therefore any savings are irrelevant
Fuel Allowance is means tested as follows:-

    He and members of the household have savings of *less* than 58000.00 *or* weekly income of *less* than 100.00 above the appropriate maximum rate of State Pension for his situation.

As you can see from the above interest from savings does not come into their calculation. Means test is based on capital and any other income


----------



## IsleOfMan

So it appears that the basic invalidy pension is not means tested, neither is the Electricity, T.V. or Telephone package but if you apply for the fuel allowance and have savings of more than €58k you will be means tested for the fuel allowance only?

The reason why I am asking this is because my father, who is aged under 66 has been on Illness benefit for a few years. Out of nowhere he received an invalidity pension application form in the post with booklet but no covering letter or note of explanation as to why this form was being sent to him.

If he is on the highest rate of Illness benefit will he automatically be put on the highest rate of  invalidity pension.

Why is he being transferred from one type of benefit to the other without explanation?

Thanks


----------



## gipimann

Persons on Illness Benefit over 12 months, and who are unlikely to be able to return to the workforce due to their illness or disability are usually sent applications for Invalidity Pension which is a higher income, and may have other benefits attached.    He would no longer be required to submit medical certificates once on Invalidity Pension.

The mailshot he received may have been just that - a general mailshot to persons on IB greater than 12 months with specific illness or disabilities, which explains the lack of an individual covering letter.


----------



## MaryKin

if you dad decides to apply for invalidity pension, he will fill out the form which is the easiest bit, he will receive a letter confirming the application within 7 days, he will then get a letter to attend medical eligibility exam in the medical referee centre nearest to him, it is only on this letter that you will be told if you are claiming any other illness ralated benefit your continued entitlement to that benefit may also be reviewed following this assessment, the medical referee will assess him for both illness benefit and invalidity pension and if he turns him down for invalidity he will also turn him down for what he is getting (illness benefit) I am going through this at the moment I am 2.5 years out of work and it seemed so easy to apply for invalidity pension get travel, medical card, etc. when you are turned down it is immediate you payments stop, then you have to appeal your case to Chief Appeals Office within 21 days furnishing documentation, letters, and history of illness you may also be asked to an oral hearing, the appeals officer can decide on your case and this appeal seems to be final, they can decide with the medical referee decision or they can offer you reduced amount depending on your disability it could be as little as 10% of the benefit you are already getting, I believe that the Ombudsman or High Court is then what is left to you should you be turned down.  

My advice is in this climate is to stay with what he is getting but if he decides to go down invalidity pension route, to have a whole case supported by documentation letters from doctors, specialists, history of illness with him on the day he is being assessed by the medical referee and make sure that the he does not only offer his medical history but that he makes sure the Medical Referee takes a copy, sorry for such a long response but I am learning the hard way and would not like any sick person too have to go through the fight that I have on hand now to get my benefits and recognition of my illness.


----------



## IsleOfMan

My father was called to a medical eligibility exam before Christmas. A pretty stressful experience I understand. That is why I cannot understand him receiving a form in the post without any covering letter. If presumably he passed the exam and was considered eligible to transfer from Illness Benefit to Invalidity benefit he would have received some sort of explanation letter attached to the form.
Does anyone know if a person is on the highest rate of Illness benefit and is asked to transfer to Invalidity benefit does he automatically transfer to the highest benefit rate?


----------



## MaryKin

As far as I know illness benefit is 204.30 weekly, and invalidity pension is around 209.00 euro, I did'nt know there was different rates in illness benefit, I know through research now that you can be put on different rate of invalidity pension depending on your disability some as little as 10% of your illness benefit. We received a letter cutting my husband off illness benefit 1 week after his assessment, if your dad has not heard yet from them it may be a good sign did the assessor give him any idea at the time whether he was going to turn him down? on my husband assessment the May 2008 the assessor told him there and then that he was not able to work, no letter came stating that fact, his illness benefit just continued, and he sent in his Sick Certs, until we applied for Invalidity Pension that is when he was re assessed.  No where on the Invalidity Form does it say that when you go before an assessor to be assessed for Invalidity that you are also being assessed for what you are claiming already. it is only on the form that is sent giving you an appointment with Medical Referee, any way my advice is to continue putting in sick  certs until you are notified, and if he gets 209 approx it means they have changed him over


----------



## justsally

Black Sheep said:


> The Electricity,TV.and Telephone package is not means tested therefore any savings are irrelevant


 
But there are some stipulations:- http://www.citizensinformation.ie/c...l-welfare-benefits/household_benefits_package



You are under 66 and are receiving:

Invalidity Pension
Blind Pension
Incapacity Supplement or Workmen's Compensation with Disablement Pension (for at least 12 months)
Disability Allowance
An equivalent Social Security Pension/Benefit from a country covered by EU Regulations, or from a country with which Ireland has a Bilateral Social Security Agreement
and live alone or only with certain excepted persons.


*Excepted persons are:*

a qualified adult (your spouse/partner is considered a qualified adult if you are receiving an allowance for him/her with your payment or if he or she earns less than €300, including income from a social welfare payment)
dependent child(ren) under the age of 18 or under the age of 22 if in full-time education (a certificate from the school/college must be supplied for those aged 18 or over)
a person who is so incapacitated as to require constant care and attention for at least 12 months (medical certification may be required)
a person(s) who would qualify for the allowance in his/her own right (for example, a person getting an State Pension)
a person who is providing you or someone in your household with constant care and attention if you or that person is so incapacitated as to require constant care and attention for at least 12 months (medical certification may be required). People in employment for more than 15 hours per week or people getting Jobseeker's Benefit/Jobseeker's Allowance cannot be accepted as providing constant full-time care and attention.
I wasn't aware that there were different rates of Invalidity Pension!!!!


----------



## MaryKin

If you have been turned down by the Medical Referee, you have to appeal Your case to the Chief Appeals Officer, they look at your file go with original medical referee decision or decide on what % disability you have this is my understanding of it but I cannot find anythin on any of my searches, but I know someone this happened to in the past month that person was out on Illness Benefit but it was a work related injury it was decided they had a 10% disability resulting from the work related injury and was offered 24 euro a week pension, I have never heard of this happening before, so I am very worried for my husband should the chief appeals officer decide the same for him.  You are means tested for all the extras you get on Invalidity Pension with the exception of Travel.


----------



## IsleOfMan

MaryKin said:


> You are means tested for all the extras you get on Invalidity Pension with the exception of Travel.


 
This seems to contradict what others have said?

Are you saying that a person can be called to a medical examination while on Illness Benefit then a couple of weeks later apply for an Invalidity Pension and be called to another medical examination?  Surely this cannot be correct. Is the Illness Benefit section completely separate to the Invalidity Pension section and can they not pass on files from one department to the other?


----------



## Black Sheep

If a person is on a reduced rate of disability as result of a work related illness it is more likely that he is on a *disablement* pension. This would have been awarded on a % basis depending on the level of disability. The possibility is that he may be entitled to Invalidity as well as % of Disablement. 

I have never heard of a reduced of Invalidity and nowhere can I find any details of reduced rates


----------



## MaryKin

ParkLane said:


> This seems to contradict what others have said?
> 
> Are you saying that a person can be called to a medical examination while on Illness Benefit then a couple of weeks later apply for an Invalidity Pension and be called to another medical examination? Surely this cannot be correct. Is the Illness Benefit section completely separate to the Invalidity Pension section and can they not pass on files from one department to the other?


----------



## MaryKin

No I am not saying that you can apply for a illness benefit and then two week later apply for an Invalidity pension, you must be at least 12 months on illness benefit before you can apply for Invalidity in my case 2.5 years, when you apply for Invalidity pension you are dual assessed by the medical referee for the illness benefit you are on and for the Invalidity Pension you are applying for, but nowhere on Invalidity form does it tell you this, to get Invalidity Pension you must prove that you will be out of work for at least another 12 months, when you appeal the decision both Invalidity and Illness benefit is looked at, as for query above the person I know was just on Illness Benefit was assessed and turned down, appealed it and was given a % it is possible that it is a disabelement pension because I cannot find anything about it either when I do searches, I'l post when I get information on appeals etc, but in this climate I would think they will turn down as many as possible, files are being assessed for all illness benefit patients and they are being called in front of a referee much quicker than before.


----------



## JEON50

At 50K your father is at the maximium before he will receive a deduction in weekly allowance. with that said SW, have changed their attitude towards, invalidy pension. \the more theycan get on it the less our work load. If ita a genuine case there is no reason to worry, as the benifits are better, and automatic.
Please let me know how you get on, as I will advise further


----------



## pudds

JEON50 said:


> At 50K your father is at the maximium before he will receive a deduction in weekly allowance. with that said SW, have changed their attitude towards, invalidy pension. \*the more theycan get on it the less our work load.* If ita a genuine case there is no reason to worry, as the benifits are better, and automatic.
> Please let me know how you get on, as I will advise further



Are u sure about that with the sw bill now €20bn would  they not be more interested in keeping  ppl on allowance's rather than pension payments in order to save a few washers.


----------

