Pre Retirement Allowances

Girlfriends father is on this scheme (PRETA) but he has led me to believe he is getting very little from it.

He has pension of approx. 100 eur/week
He gets 84 eur/week from this scheme.

the scheme is means tested and as he has some capital i believe this is being taken into account as they were (he and his wife) means tested.

they also own their own home but i believe this is not taken into account when means testing.

Im not too familiar with the whole process but he has told me that the amount he is receiving is low because he has used up all his stamps? i thought stamps went out years ago, i suppose he is referring to prsi contributions.

Anyway im just wondering is their a way of calculating what he is entitled to taking into account what i believe are the relevant factors eg.'

• his pension
• capital (money in the bank)
• he has used up his prsi contributions

Comments appreciated....

also to add, his wife isnt working. she left work due to bad back but i dont think she is in receipt of any welfare.

Their children do not live at home.

Can the capital be reduced in order to increase the welfare payment.

Is the thinking behind all this that the person must use their personal savings to support themselves ie. exhaust their personal savings befor the welfare payment will increase?

If the capital was used to pay for a wedding for instance would this qualify as legitimately reducing capital in order to increase welfare?

If the person is on PRETA, he has exhausted entitlement to Jobseeker's Benefit (PRSI contribution based payment, not means tested) so is on a means-tested payment.

The means test for PRETA is the same as that for Jobseeker's Allowance. Income/savings are assessed as follows:

Savings:
First €20 000 is disregarded
Next €10 000 is assessed at €1 per €1000
Next €10 000 is assessed at €2 per €1000
Balance is assessed at €4 per €1000

The amount arrived at is assessed as weekly means.
For example, if a person has €40 000 in savings, the weekly means assessed are €30 per week.

This assessment is also used if the person owns property (excluding their own home) - the capital value of the property is assessed.

The weekly pension is also assessed as means and is deducted € for €.

You mentioned that the man's wife isn't working due to illness - if she is in receipt of SW in her own right, it will also affect the amount of PRETA, as the husband cannot claim for her as a dependent.

The full rate for 2 adults on PRETA for 2008 is €329.10. From the figures provided and assuming that the wife has no income of any kind, it appears there may be something missing.

If there is no other income in the household, he should contact his local Social Welfare Office and ask for a review of his claim, to confirm that his entitlements are correct.

thanks for reply. info is very helpful.

but im still wondering about the capital element and how this can be legitimately reduced so as to increase the social welfare payment.

i presume some people who have savings in these situations must use part of their savings to live and at some stage will have large outgoings which will ultimately reduce the capital and therefore increase the social welfare payment.

The capital element cannot be "legitimately" reduced other than by paying off debt and bills. Paying for a wedding is using capital in a "legitimate" way. SW will look at the spending to ensure that it is not just being "reduced" and hidden somewhere else. They will ask for receipts, invoices.

The state's view is that any means-assessed payment is dependent on the fact that a person does not have enough money to live on before resorting to it adn ther are stiull generous disregards. Based on Gipimann's figures, your father would have to have capital of over 100,000 before losing all PRETA.

I would check to ensure that your father is claiming increase for your mother and ask for a review of the claim particularly regarding assessment of capital if the amount has changed downwards since last assessment was done.

thanks for replies.

i now can explain with full clarity to them what the situation is regarding their entitlements.

posts were very helpful