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(e) Pension Funds, Trust funds etc. owned by the claimant.Pension Funds
The value of a pension fund is only accessible for means when a person has access to the pension fund. The rules of a pension scheme will determine what and when benefits are payable from the scheme.
Any benefits in the form of a regular payment or a lump sum payment will be accessed as means.
Regular pension payments will be treated as income for means purposes. The value of any cash otherwise available from a pension fund will be assessed on the basis of the capital valuation of that fund.
A claimant should supply the last Annual Benefit Statement provided by the trustees of the pension scheme to the Department. This will state the date that the benefits of the pension can be accrued.
Similar to the above, the terms of the buy-out bond will determine what and when benefits are payable to the holder of the bond. A person should provide details of the bond to the Department in order to prove that they do not have access to any benefits.
Note 2: If the claimant only has a life interest in the capital, the capital lump sum is not assessed as property, and any periodic payments received are assessed as cash income.
Doubt arises at times as to whether the claimant has ownership of the funds or just a life interest, i.e. entitlement to periodic payments only. Enquiry as to whether any amount left at date of death reverts to his/her estate, or whether full title of any balance then passes to another (e.g. the fund holder) may clarify this point.
Where is she that she can't make a phone call ... even just to allow sw talk to her mother.
My niece is in Africa on a charity volunteer mission that was planned long before this Job Seekers Allowance drama kicked off. Phone calls to home and internet access is very limited. A letter to Ireland will take longer to get here than she herself will in 10 days time.
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