Disposing of PPR and pension means test

pensioner106

Registered User
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I would be grateful if someone could advise on the below scenario if you have any experiences.

A pensioner is in receipt of the Means Tested Non Contributory state pension.
They are living alone in their PPR in the west, their spouse is deceased and their nearest relatives are in Dublin.
They are no longer able to maintain this situation and wish to move to live with relations in their home.

The pensioner does not want to leave their PPR lying vacant and deteriorating for the rest of their life. They wish to dispose of the property or transfer it to a family member.

Can this be done without losing entitlement to the Non Contributory Pension?

The following from the Welfare website seem relevant:

Where a person leaves his/her home on a temporary basis, or for an indefinite period as a result of old age or illness, the capital value of his/her home is not assessed as means unless it is put to profitable use. If put to profitable use (for example rented out) the capital value of the house is assessed as means.

So it's ok to leave the house lying idle indefinitely.

Where a person sells his/her principal residence, the gross proceeds of the sale up to a maximum of €190,500 (£150,000) are exempted from the means test in certain circumstances.
The residence must have been sold so as to enable the person to:

  • purchase or rent alternative accommodation, which s/he occupies as his/her only or main residence or
  • move into a private nursing home which has been registered under Section 4, Health (Nursing Home) Acts, 1990.
So if the pensioner paid a rent to the family member, the PPR can be disposed of?

The wording doesn't deal specifically with the scenario of transferring property, although it does refer to transfers not being permitted to facilitate means testing, but this is not the scenario here - the pensioner is already entitled to NC Pension and just doesn't want to be responsible for a far flung vacant property in their later years.
 
Hello.. what is the current value of the PPR?

I think this information is key to help solve this problem..
 
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