Illness Benefit: Social welfare INSPECTION. HELP

Edward9

Hi,
I am on illness benefit and I am a year away from my old age pension.
Got a letter from a Social welfare officer wanting to come out to my house to review Disability Benefit.
I am not on Disability Benefit I am on Illness Benefit. A demand has been made on me that I provide details of all my wife's savings and investments. I ask how could I do this as this is my wife's business and she has also said to me she will not allow anyone into her house unless its a guard with a search warrant.

What I am asking is has this social welfare officer the right to make those demands on me which are causing a riot in the house. My wife will be pension age in 3 months and says hers business is her business.

Replies Please

mrsbyrne

Sorry your so upset Edward.
I'm guessing here but are you claiming for your wife as your Qualified Adult on your Illness Benefit?
Does the letter say that the Inspector is coming to see you at home?
Are you sending in Certs every week/month?

hawthorne

In the past the DoSP ignored the wife's income when you was on illness benefit, which is a non means tested payment.
However there seems to be a change in that policy.
If you claimed in the past for your wife they ignored her income and the full rate was handed out for the two years.
It now seems that only the person who is getting illness benefit will get this payment without a means test and for a maximum of 2 years. All other persons- like a wife or children for whom one is claiming as well will undergo a means test. It seem that if the income of the wife or kids exceeds a - to me unknown- limit, a certain percentage will be taken of the payment for the dependent wife or children.
I did not find anything confirming this policy shift of the department anywhere.
I am on illness benefit as well and had no means test in the past.
However- my wife was means tested as well some months ago. Luckily she had no income, so nothing was deducted from our payment.
If your wife has an income, they will probably look at this very carefully.
If she is refusing any cooperation your payment will be stopped at once.
It is advisible to see a TD regading the matter. S/he could raise the problem in the Dail. This would give us all an answer if there is really a change of the DoSP policy regarding dependents payments in non means tested benefits. I also wonder about the legallity of this move by the DoSP.

eastbono

Any adult dependent payment on illness benefit is means tested. Its on a sliding scale but if ADA has income >€310 pw then no payment will be made for ADA. This has been the case for at least 6 years and the same applies to ADA on jobseekers benefit. A child dependant rate is based on earnings from ADA income. There isnt much point in contacting a TD as they would have been the people who would have voted it into law under a budget vote http://www.welfare.ie/en/Pages/Increase-for-a-Qualified-Adult.aspx

mrsbyrne

For a great many years a man could claim for his wife as his dependent and no means rest was applied.
This was because traditionally very few wives went out to work. Or at least not officially.
Then it became apparent that this had to change.
More and more wives were going to work and earning their own income.
You will agree,I'm sure, that if a man is unfortunate enough to break his arm and apply for Illness Benefit, or if a man reaches pension age and claims his State Pension, and we will say his wife is a teacher or a nurse, working and getting her salary, that he does not need a Qualified Adult payment for her?
Or if she has come into a large sum of money, an inheritance for example, or has rental income, or farms a price of land, that he does not need it for her either?
I can assure you that the DSP means testing of dependent adults is completely transparent and within the law.
I also think it is entirely fair.

Edward9

Thanks for all the replies.
Has the social welfare officer a right to enforce a home visit and invade ones privacy to discuss a means test

eastbono

I would presume the reason sw inspector is visiting you at home is because you are on illness benefit and feels that it would be easier on you to make a home visit. You can contact the sw inspector and tell them that you would prefer to meet them at their office. You will still have to provide any information requested by them.