Supplementary Benefit between 60 and 66.

A

ALEXA

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A friend of mine who was a HSE employee will be 60 years of age in December and will be entitled to her preserved benefits lump sum and a small pension. She has no other form of income apart from some savings which she has been using to fund her living expenses. As her pension will be small, would she be entitled to any form of supplementary payment from social welfare? She has not worked for a few years but has made significant PRSI contributions which will provide her with a contributory old age pension at the age of 66. What benefits if any could she apply for between now and then?
 
jobSeekers Benefit, and after that runs out JobSeekers Allowance. The Social Welfare Bill states that those aged over 62 will only have to sign on once a year, will get payment into their bank and will not be subject to Activation measures (ie will be left alone). I cant see them hounding a 60 year old to engage in training or internships in any case.
 
The jobseekers allowance will be means tested though, so her small pension and savings (exluding 20k) will be taken into account, she should perhaps drop in to her local citizens information office who would be able to give her an indication of what she would receive after the first 9 months when the benefit runs out.
 
Thanks for your replies.

My friend was on Jobsseekers Allowance a couple of years ago but Social Welfare stopped paying it after 6 months as they said she wasn't actively seeking work. They were also wanting her to attend courses with Fas.

She was waiting to get back to her old job in the hospital after a career break but the recruitment embargo was on and they had no job for her to return to. Since then she has lived on her savings and with the help of a good friend.

Do you think there would be any point in her re-applying for welfare when she reaches 60? or are they likely to check back and refuse her?

It would be extremely difficult for a 60 yr old to get a job in the current climate and she feels that she could not tolerate the hassle and hoops that Social Welfare would make her go through in order to get benefit of any kind. This is why she has not bothered over the past couple of years.

I had a look at the Social Welfare Bill and it looks good for anyone over 62 but my friend would have to wait 2 more years to avail of this.

I have passed on the advice to check with citizensinformation and she will do that.
 
So she is not actually working at the moment and has not worked for several years, is that correct?

If so then she may as well apply for jobseekers allowance now as wait until she is 60, either way she will have to be actively seeking work however as you say the chances of actually finding any are slim. If she has not been working for several years and not signing on then she is not maintaining her prsi record for contributory pension purposes, this is a mistake in my opinion as who knows what changes might be made to the requirements in the years before she reaches 66 and she needs to ensure she has the maximum contributions/credits made just in case.

I definitely think a trip to Citizens Information is necessary.
 
SarahMc said:
The Social Welfare Bill states that those aged over 62 will only have to sign on once a year, will get payment into their bank and will not be subject to Activation measures (ie will be left alone). I cant see them hounding a 60 year old to engage in training or internships in any case.
Click to expand...

These new measures for over 62's only come in to effect from January next.
Up till recently I've had confirmation of people in this age group being put through the hoops regardless of their age.

The requirement to be 'available for and genuinely seeking work' still remains however.
 
How often do they require you to prove you are looking for work .What date is usually the once a year signing ?
 
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