JSA means test info:
Introduction
To qualify
Jobseeker’s Allowance (JA) you must satisfy a mean test. In a means test the Department of Social and Family Affairs examines all your sources of income to test if they fall below a certain level. If they fall below that level you will get Jobseeker’s Allowance. The amount of Jobseeker’s Allowance you will get depends on your level of income.
In the means test for Jobseeker’s Allowance
your household income is assessed. If you are married or living with another person as husband and wife, the means of your spouse or partner are also taken into account. Sometimes a certain amount of income or income from particular sources is not taken into account. Income not taken into account is often referred to as "income disregards".
The means test for Jobseeker’s Allowance can be a complex calculation. Here we look at some of the general items that are taken into account in the means test.
The means test examines the following types of income:
- Cash income (including income from work)
- Property personally used
- Capital (savings and investments) and property not personally used
- Benefit and privilege from living with your parents.
Cash Income
The means test assesses all cash income that you expect to get in the forthcoming year. If it is not possible to estimate your income over the next 12 months, it is usually based on the income you actually received in the previous year.
Among the cash income that is assessed is:
Most social welfare payments and Health Service Executive payments are not taken into account. Find out more about
cash income not included in the means test.
However, if your are claiming Jobseeker's Allowance and your spouse or partner is getting of one of the social welfare payments listed below, the total amount paid to you as a couple cannot exceed the maximum amount paid to one person (including adult and child dependants) on one social welfare payment.
- Illness Benefit
- Disablement Pension (when paid with Illness Benefit or Incapacity Supplement)
- Injury Benefit
- Invalidity Pension
- State Pension (Non-Contributory)
- State Pension (Contributory)
- State Pension (Transition)
- Jobseeker's Benefit
- Jobseeker's Allowance
- Pre-Retirement Allowance (PRETA)
- Farm Assist (FA).
For examplePaul qualifies for Jobseeker’s Allowance. His partner Anna is getting Invalidity Pension.
Anna and Paul have chosen Anna's Invalidity Pension as the primary payment rather than Paul's Jobseeker's Allowance because Invalidity Pension is paid at a higher weekly rate.
Claimant on Invalidity Pension (IP) under 65 years €209.80
Qualified adult rate for IP under 65 years
€149.70
Maximum payable to Anna and Paul €359.50
Paul will get Jobseeker’s Allowance of €149.70
Property personally used
The house in which you live is not included in the assessment of your means unless you are getting an income from it. If you have rented a room in the house, that income is assessed but the capital value of your home is not.
Capital and property not personally used
Capital includes property (
not your home), savings and investments.
If you own property (excluding your home) or you have investments or any other form of capital, the value is assessed, using a standard formula (see below) whether or not you are getting an income from the property or investment.
The property and investments that may be assessed include savings in a bank account (or anywhere else), a house that you have let and stocks and shares. If you or your spouse or partner saves a portion of your social welfare payment each week, these savings as well as savings from most other sources will be taken into account as part of your means.
The formula for assessing the value of capital including property (but not your own home), savings and investments is as follows:
Capital Weekly means assessedFirst €20,000NilNext €10,000 €1 per €1,000Next €10,000€2 per €1,000Balance (€40,000 )€4 per €1,000
If you have a
joint account with your spouse or partner, legally the total amount in the account is owned by each of you. Therefore it can be assessed in full against each of you. However, if both you and your spouse or partner are getting means-tested payments it will be assessed on a shared basis or against only one of you.
For example If you have €55,000 savings:
The first €20,000 is assessed as nil, €20,000 to €30,000 is assessed as €10, €30,000 to €40,000 is assessed as €20, €40,000 and €55,000 is assessed as €60.
€10 €20 €60 = €90
Savings of €55,000 gives a means of €90 per week.
Living with your parents
If you are
24 years of age or under and you are living with a parent or a step-parent in the family home, some of your parents' income will also be taken into account in the assessment for Jobseeker's Allowance.
This is called an assessment of the 'benefit and privilege' you get from living with your parents. More information is available on
how benefit and privilege is assessed in the means test.
Total means
To find your total means, your means under the various headings (for example, cash income, employment, capital, benefit and privilege) are added together. If you are married or cohabiting you means may be halved (see ‘Married and cohabiting’ below).
Your total household means is then deducted from the maximum payment for your situation (see below) to find the actual amount of Jobseeker’s Allowance you are entitled to.
Maximum payment for your situation
The maximum payment for your situation is the maximum personal rate of Jobseeker's Allowance including any increases for adult and child dependants.
However, if you are married or cohabiting and your means are halved, the maximum payment for your situation will
not include an increase for an adult dependant and will only include half-rate increases for any child dependants you may have.
Married and cohabiting couples
Your means are halved if your spouse or partner is:
If your means are halved, you will not get an increase for a qualified adult but you will get a half-rate increase for each qualified child.
Additional information
You can also find more information in the Department of Social and Family Affair’s Operational Guidelines about: