Social Welfare Law Reform and Pensions Act 2006


Number 5 of 2006


SOCIAL WELFARE LAW REFORM AND PENSIONS ACT 2006

REVISED

Updated to 1 January 2018


This Revised Act is an administrative consolidation of the Social Welfare Law Reform and Pensions Act 2006. It is prepared by the Law Reform Commission in accordance with its function under the Law Reform Commission Act 1975 (3/1975) to keep the law under review and to undertake revision and consolidation of statute law.

All Acts up to and including Finance Act 2017 (41/2017), enacted 25 December 2017, and all statutory instruments up to and including Legal Metrology (Measuring Instruments) Act 2017 (Commencement) Order 2018 (S.I. No. 1 of 2018), made 4 January 2018, were considered in the preparation of this Revised Act.

Disclaimer: While every care has been taken in the preparation of this Revised Act, the Law Reform Commission can assume no responsibility for and give no guarantees, undertakings or warranties concerning the accuracy, completeness or up to date nature of the information provided and does not accept any liability whatsoever arising from any errors or omissions. Please notify any errors, omissions and comments by email to

revisedacts@lawreform.ie.


Number 5 of 2006


SOCIAL WELFARE LAW REFORM AND PENSIONS ACT 2006

REVISED

Updated to 1 January 2018


Introduction

This Revised Act presents the text of the Act as it has been amended since enactment, and preserves the format in which it was passed.

Related legislation

Pensions Acts 1990 to 2015: this Act is one of a group of Acts included in this collective citation, to be construed together as one (Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2015 (47/2015), s. 1(3)). The Acts in this group are:

Pensions Act 1990 (25/1990)

Pensions (Amendment) Act 1996 (18/1996)

Pensions (Amendment) Act 2002 (18/2002)

Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2003 (4/2003), s. 24

Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2004 (9/2004), ss. 22, 23

Equality Act 2004 (24/2004), Part 4

Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2005 (4/2005), ss. 27-39

Social Welfare Law Reform and Pensions Act 2006 (5/2006), ss. 38-44

Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2007 (8/2007), s. 37

Social Welfare And Pensions Act 2008 (2/2008), ss. 26-29

Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2008 (22/2008), s. 24

Social Welfare And Pensions Act 2009 (10/2009), Part 5

Social Welfare And Pensions (No. 2) Act 2009 (43/2009), Part 3

Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2010 (37/2010), Part 5

Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2011 (9/2011), Part 4

Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2012 (12/2012), Part 3

Social Welfare and Pensions (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2013 (20/2013), Part 4

Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2013 (38/2013), Part 4

Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Act 2013 (49/2013), Part 3

Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2014 (16/2014), Part 3

Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Act 2014 (41/2014), s. 4

Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2015 (43/2015), s. 2

Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2015 (47/2015), Part 3

Annotations

This Revised Act is annotated and includes textual and non-textual amendments, statutory instruments made pursuant to the Act and previous affecting provisions.

An explanation of how to read annotations is available at

www.lawreform.ie/annotations.

Material not updated in this revision

Where other legislation is amended by this Act, those amendments may have been superseded by other amendments in other legislation, or the amended legislation may have been repealed or revoked. This information is not represented in this revision but will be reflected in a revision of the amended legislation if one is available.

Where legislation or a fragment of legislation is referred to in annotations, changes to this legislation or fragment may not be reflected in this revision but will be reflected in a revision of the legislation referred to if one is available.

A list of legislative changes to any Act, and to statutory instruments from 1989, may be found linked from the page of the Act or statutory instrument at

www.irishstatutebook.ie.

Acts which affect or previously affected this revision

Social Welfare Act 2017 (38/2017)

Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman Act 2017 (22/2017)

All Acts up to and including Finance Act 2017 (41/2017), enacted 25 December 2017, were considered in the preparation of this revision.

Statutory instruments which affect or previously affected this revision

Social Welfare Law Reform and Pensions Act 2006 (Section 39) (Commencement) Order 2007 (S.I. No. 631 of 2007)

Social Welfare Law Reform and Pensions Act 2006 (Section 42) (Commencement) Order 2006 (S.I. No. 136 of 2007)

Social Welfare Law Reform and Pensions Act 2006 (Section 40) (Commencement) Order 2006 (S.I. No. 437 of 2006)

Social Welfare Law Reform and Pensions Act 2006 (Item 6 of Schedule 8) (Commencement) Order, 2006 (S.I. No. 357 of 2006)

Social Welfare Law Reform and Pensions Act 2006 (Sections 4, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 and 25) (Commencement) Order 2006 (S.I. No. 334 of 2006)

Social Welfare Law Reform and Pensions Act 2006 (Part 3) (Commencement) Order 2006 (S.I. No. 291 of 2006)

Social Welfare Law Reform and Pensions Act 2006 (Sections 4(4), 4(5), 31 and 33) (Commencement) Order 2006 (S.I. No. 246 of 2006)

Social Welfare Law Reform and Pensions Act 2006 (Sections 26 and 27) (Commencement) Order 2006 (S.I. No. 206 of 2006)

Social Welfare Law Reform and Pensions Act 2006 (Sections 5 and 6) (Commencement) Order 2006 (S.I. No. 205 of 2006)

Social Welfare Law Reform and Pensions Act 2006 (Section 39 (in so Far as it Inserts Section 3B into the Pensions Act 1990)) (Commencement) Order 2006 (S.I. No. 169 of 2006)

All statutory instruments up to and including Legal Metrology (Measuring Instruments) Act 2017 (Commencement) Order 2018 (S.I. No. 1 of 2018), made 4 January 2018, were considered in the preparation of this revision.


Number 5 of 2006


SOCIAL WELFARE LAW REFORM AND PENSIONS ACT 2006

REVISED

Updated to 3 January 2018


ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

PART 1

Short Title, Construction, Collective Citation and Commencement

Section

1. Short title, construction, collective citation and commencement.

PART 2

Amendments to the Social Welfare Acts

2. Definition (Part 2).

3. Child benefit — new rates.

4. Renaming of certain social welfare schemes.

5. Reckonable income — amendment to definition.

6. Rates of self-employed contributions and related matters.

7. Carer’s benefit — extension of duration of payment.

8. Decision by deciding officer — homemakers.

9. Old age (contributory) pension — improvement.

10. Conditions for receipt of old age (contributory) pension — amendment.

11. Old age contributory pension — automatic entitlement for invalidity pension recipients.

12. Old age (contributory) pension — automatic entitlement for retirement pension recipients.

13. Retirement pension — improvement.

14. Conditions for receipt of retirement pension — amendment.

15. Pre-retirement allowance — payment of allowance.

16. State pension (non-contributory).

17. State pension (non-contributory) — consequential amendments to Principal Act.

18. Amendment to widowed parent grant.

19. Amendment to description of social assistance.

20. Blind pension — amendments.

21. Amendment to widow’s (non-contributory) pension and widower’s (non-contributory) pension.

22. Amendment to one-parent family payment.

23. Amendment to transitional provisions — relevant payments.

24. State pension (non-contributory) — assessment of means.

25. Assessment of means — insertion of new Part 5.

26. Orphan’s (non-contributory) pension — amendment.

27. One-parent family payment — increase in income threshold.

28. Early childcare supplement — provision.

29. Early childcare supplement — consequential amendments to Principal Act.

30. Respite care grant — increase in rate.

31. Family income supplement — improvement.

32. Provisions relating to entitlement — amendment.

33. Means assessment — amendments.

34. Supplementary welfare allowance — improvement in means assessment.

35. Personal public service number — additional specified bodies.

36. Recovery of payments from financial institutions — amendment.

37. Miscellaneous amendments to Principal Act.

PART 3

Amendments to the Pensions Act 1990

38. Definition (Part 3).

39. Notice of intention by Pensions Board to prosecute.

40. Indemnity.

41. Index-linked benefits.

42. Review of actuarial work.

43. Functions of Pensions Ombudsman. (Repealed)

44. Miscellaneous amendments to Principal Act.

PART 4

Miscellaneous Amendments to other Acts

45. Amendment to Combat Poverty Agency Act 1986.

46. Amendment to Freedom of Information Act 1997.

47. Amendment to Taxes Consolidation Act 1997.

48. Amendment to Carer’s Leave Act 2001.

SCHEDULE 1

Renaming of certain Social Welfare Schemes

SCHEDULE 2

Rates of Assistance

SCHEDULE 3

State Pension (non-contributory) — Consequential Amendments to Principal Act

SCHEDULE 4

State Pension (non-contributory) — Assessment of Means

SCHEDULE 5

Blind pension, widow’s (non-contributory) pension, widower’s (non-contributory) pension and orphan’s (non-contributory) pension, one-parent family payment and carer’s allowance — Assessment of Means

SCHEDULE 6

Early Childcare Supplement — Consequential Amendments to Principal Act

SCHEDULE 7

Miscellaneous Amendments to Principal Act

SCHEDULE 8

Miscellaneous Amendments to Pensions Act 1990

SCHEDULE 9

Amendments to Carer’s Leave Act 2001


Acts Referred to

Army Pensions Acts 1923 to 1980

Blind Persons Act 1920

10 & 11, Geo. 5, c. 49

Carer’s Leave Act 2001

2001, No. 19

Combat Poverty Agency Act 1986

1986, No. 14

Comhairle Act 2000

2000, No. 1

Companies Acts 1963 to 2005

Connaught Rangers (Pensions) Acts 1936 to 1964

Credit Union Act 1997

1997, No. 15

Freedom of Information Act 1997

1997, No. 13

Income Tax Acts

Military Service Pensions Acts 1924 to 1964

Pensions (Amendment) Act 2002

2002, No. 18

Pensions Act 1990

1990, No. 25

Pensions Acts 1990 to 2005

Social Welfare Acts

Social Welfare Act 2005

2005, No. 30

Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2005

2005, No. 4

Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005

2005, No. 26

Taxes Consolidation Act 1997

1997, No. 39


Number 5 of 2006


SOCIAL WELFARE LAW REFORM AND PENSIONS ACT 2006


AN ACT TO AMEND AND EXTEND THE SOCIAL WELFARE ACTS, THE PENSIONS ACT 1990, THE COMBAT POVERTY AGENCY ACT 1986, THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 1997, THE TAXES CONSOLIDATION ACT 1997 AND THE CARER’S LEAVE ACT 2001.

[24th March, 2006]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS: