In short
This law amends existing Social Welfare Acts and the Pensions Act 1990, primarily focusing on child benefit amounts, means assessment for one-parent family payments, and payments for certain pension scheme liabilities.
What it regulates
- The monthly amount of child benefit paid for qualified children.
- The calculation of weekly earnings for means assessment for one-parent family payments.
- The payment of moneys by the Minister for Finance for liabilities of certain eligible pension schemes.
Who it concerns
- Individuals receiving child benefit.
- Individuals receiving one-parent family payments.
- Approved persons and eligible pension schemes with liabilities.
Key points
- A monthly child benefit of €135 is paid for each qualified child.
- For multiple births, the monthly benefit is 150% for twins (2 children remaining qualified) and 200% for triplets or more (not less than 3 children remaining qualified).
- For one-parent family payments, €90 plus half of weekly earnings above that amount are disregarded when calculating weekly earnings for means assessment, effective from 1 January 2014.
- The Minister for Finance may pay moneys to an approved person to discharge liabilities of eligible pension schemes that were wound up between 25 January 2007 and 25 December 2013, where the employer was insolvent and scheme resources were insufficient to cover 50% of certain benefits.
📄 Legal text
Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Act 2014
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Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Act 2014
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Number 41 of 2014
Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Act 2014
CONTENTS
Section
1. Definitions
2. Amounts of child benefit
3. Means assessment for one-parent family payment
4. Amendment of Pensions Act 1990
5. Short title, construction and collective citations
Acts Referred to
Pensions Act 1990
(No. 25)
Pensions Acts 1990 to 2014
Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) Act 1984
(No. 21)
Social Welfare Act 2011
(No. 37)
Social Welfare Act 2012
(No. 43)
Social Welfare Acts
Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Act 2013
(No. 49)
Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005
(No. 26)
Social Welfare Law Reform and Pensions Act 2006
(No. 5)
Number 41 of 2014
Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Act 2014
An Act to amend the Social Welfare Acts; to amend the
Pensions Act 1990
; and to provide for related matters.
[25th December, 2014]
Be it enacted by the Oireachtas as follows:
Definitions
1. In this Act—
“Act of 2012” means the
Social Welfare Act 2012
;
“Principal Act” means the
Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005
.
Amounts of child benefit
2. (1) The Principal Act is amended—
(a) in section 221—
(i) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1) (amended by section 8 of the Act of 2012):
“(1) Subject to this Act, a qualified person shall be paid a monthly benefit of €135 in respect of each qualified child.”,
and
(ii) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (2) (amended by section 17 of, and Schedule 3 to, the
Social Welfare Law Reform and Pensions Act 2006
):
“(2) Notwithstanding anything in this Part, the monthly benefit payable to a qualified person in respect of a qualified child whose birth was part of—
(a) a multiple birth of 2 children, of whom 2 remain qualified, shall be 150 per cent of the amount specified in subsection (1), or
(b) a multiple birth of 3 or more children, of whom—
(i) not less than 3 remain qualified, shall be 200 per cent of the amount specified in subsection (1),
(ii) not less than 2 remain qualified, shall be 150 per cent of the amount specified in subsection (1), or
(iii) one remains qualified, shall be payable at the amount specified in subsection (1).”,
and
(b) in Schedule 4, by the repeal of Part 4 (amended by section 8 of the Act of 2012).
(2) This section comes into operation on 1 January 2015.
Means assessment for one-parent family payment
3. Rule 1(4) (amended by
section 11
of the
Social Welfare Act 2011
) of Part 5 of Schedule 3 to the Principal Act is amended—
(a) in subparagraph (a), by the substitution of “subject to this paragraph,” for “subject to subparagraph (b),”,
(b) in subparagraph (c), by the substitution of “shall be disregarded, and” for “shall be disregarded,”,
(c) by the substitution of the following subparagraph for subparagraph (d):
“(d) in calculating the weekly earnings for the purposes of subparagraph (a) for any period commencing on or after 1 January 2014, an amount of €90 together with half the weekly earnings in excess of that amount shall be disregarded;”,
and
(d) by the deletion of subparagraphs (e) and (f).
Amendment of Pensions Act 1990
4. The
Pensions Act 1990
is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 48A (inserted by
section 10
of the
Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Act 2013
):
“Payment of moneys by Minister for Finance in respect of liabilities accruing under certain relevant schemes
48B. (1) The Minister for Finance may, at the request of the Minister, following consultation with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, pay moneys to an approved person for the purpose of the discharge by the approved person of the liabilities of an eligible pension scheme, referred to in paragraph (b) of the definition of eligible pension scheme.
(2) The Minister for Finance may, after consultation with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, authorise a person to be an approved person for the purposes of this section.
(3) The moneys referred to in subsection (1) that are required by the Minister for Finance for the making of a payment under that subsection shall be paid out of the Central Fund or the growing produce thereof.
(4) In this section—
‘approved person’ means a person authorised under subsection (2);
‘eligible pension scheme’ means a relevant scheme where the date of the winding up of the scheme is on or after 25 January 2007 and before 25 December 2013 and in respect of which—
(a) the employer participating in the relevant scheme is, or where more than one employer participates in such scheme, all of the employers participating in the scheme are, at the date of the winding up insolvent for the purposes of the
Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) Act 1984
, and
(b) the resources of the relevant scheme are not sufficient to discharge in whole or in part, the liabilities of the scheme in respect of—
(i) 50 per cent of the benefits specified in paragraph 1 of the Third Schedule to or in respect of those persons who, at the date of the winding up of the scheme, were within the categories referred to in that paragraph, to the extent that those benefits have not already been discharged, and
(ii) 50 per cent of the benefits specified in paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 of the Third Schedule to or in respect of those members of the scheme who, at the date of the winding up of the scheme, were within the categories referred to in those paragraphs, to the extent that those benefits have not already been discharged.
(5) A reference to ‘effective date of the certificate’ in the Third Schedule shall, insofar as it relates to an eligible pension scheme, be construed as a reference to the date of the winding up of the eligible pension scheme concerned, with any necessary modifications.”.
Short title, construction and collective citations
5. (1) This Act may be cited as the Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Act 2014.
(2) The Social Welfare Acts and this Act (other than
section 4
) shall be construed together as one Act.
(3) The Pensions Act 1990 to 2014 and
section 4
shall be construed together as one Act and the collective citation “Pensions Acts 1990 to 2014” shall include that section.
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