Missed out on widowed or surviving civil partner grant

Da Optimist

My mother passed away 12 years ago. I was 17 and a dependent child on my father in full time education. My dad qualified for a widowers contributory pension at the time and drew it until he reached pension age. We got nothing else in relation to state supports.

We have just discovered that my dad was also entitled to a widowed or surviving civil partner grant of 6000 but we never knew at the time.

Is there any hope of getting it now as we were entitled to it and never told!

splinter65

Da Optimist wrote: »

My mother passed away 12 years ago. I was 17 and a dependent child on my father in full time education. My dad qualified for a widowers contributory pension at the time and drew it until he reached pension age. We got nothing else in relation to state supports.

We have just discovered that my dad was also entitled to a widowed or surviving civil partner grant of 6000 but we never knew at the time.

Is there any hope of getting it now as we were entitled to it and never told!

The first thing your dad would have to do is write to Sligo to request a copy of his file going back to his initial application for a widowers pension in 2006.
Use this form.
http://www.welfare.ie/en/pdf/FOI1.pdf
Then he will have the evidence to show that he didn’t get the grant, because it would show in his file if he did get it.
I don’t think he’ll get it now as he had a year to apply for it after your mother died.
Widowed Parent Grant is the payment he wants to see a record of.

Da Optimist

splinter65 wrote: »

Da Optimist wrote: »

My mother passed away 12 years ago. I was 17 and a dependent child on my father in full time education. My dad qualified for a widowers contributory pension at the time and drew it until he reached pension age. We got nothing else in relation to state supports.

We have just discovered that my dad was also entitled to a widowed or surviving civil partner grant of 6000 but we never knew at the time.

Is there any hope of getting it now as we were entitled to it and never told!

The first thing your dad would have to do is write to Sligo to request a copy of his file going back to his initial application for a widowers pension in 2006.
Use this form.
http://www.welfare.ie/en/pdf/FOI1.pdf
Then he will have the evidence to show that he didn’t get the grant, because it would show in his file if he did get it.
I don’t think he’ll get it now as he had a year to apply for it after your mother died.
Widowed Parent Grant is the payment he wants to see a record of.

Thanks, very helpful!

Looking back at the late claim process I can see that they allow six months. I'll call them anyway. My mother committed suicide and my dad was highly stressed at the time. I also had/have a life shortening illness now and at the time. We can get a funeral receipt and a letter from the school and doctors to prove everything. I think it will be a waste of time though.

splinter65

Da Optimist wrote: »

Thanks, very helpful!

Looking back at the late claim process I can see that they allow six months. I'll call them anyway. My mother committed suicide and my dad was highly stressed at the time. I also had/have a life shortening illness now and at the time. We can get a funeral receipt and a letter from the school and doctors to prove everything. I think it will be a waste of time though.

They’re very flexible about the 6 months bit but I would guess that 12 years would be stretching it a bit.

Da Optimist

splinter65 wrote: »

Da Optimist wrote: »

Thanks, very helpful!

Looking back at the late claim process I can see that they allow six months. I'll call them anyway. My mother committed suicide and my dad was highly stressed at the time. I also had/have a life shortening illness now and at the time. We can get a funeral receipt and a letter from the school and doctors to prove everything. I think it will be a waste of time though.

They’re very flexible about the 6 months bit but I would guess that 12 years would be stretching it a bit.

I could take them to the high court.

splinter65

Da Optimist wrote: »

I could take them to the high court.

What point of law would you be taking the state to the high court on?

Da Optimist

I got through to the department in Sligo this morning. It turns out they will pay it out but only at the rate in 2006 which was 2,700. However my father didn't receive his widowers contributory pension until January 2008 as he applied late. She told me I won't get it as I was no longer in full time education in 2008. I thought because of the fact he would 'quality' in the first place would make him eligible.

splinter65

Da Optimist wrote: »

I got through to the department in Sligo this morning. It turns out they will pay it out but only at the rate in 2006 which was 2,700. However my father didn't receive his widowers contributory pension until January 2008 as he applied late. She told me I won't get it as I was no longer in full time education in 2008. I thought because of the fact he would 'quality' in the first place would make him eligible.

Your dad needs to write to Sligo to Widows section and set out his case.
He will be claiming that he didn’t apply for his pension entitlements as soon as he became eligible due to the traumatic tragic circumstances surrounding the death of your mother.
Was the pension backdated when he did get it?

Da Optimist

splinter65 wrote: »

Da Optimist wrote: »

I got through to the department in Sligo this morning. It turns out they will pay it out but only at the rate in 2006 which was 2,700. However my father didn't receive his widowers contributory pension until January 2008 as he applied late. She told me I won't get it as I was no longer in full time education in 2008. I thought because of the fact he would 'quality' in the first place would make him eligible.

Your dad needs to write to Sligo to Widows section and set out his case.
He will be claiming that he didn’t apply for his pension entitlements as soon as he became eligible due to the traumatic tragic circumstances surrounding the death of your mother.
Was the pension backdated when he did get it?

Yes it was backdated. He thinks he received 17 or 18k but no grant was included. They would have needed a letter from my school at the time and that never happened.

splinter65

Da Optimist wrote: »

Yes it was backdated. He thinks he received 17 or 18k but no grant was included. They would have needed a letter from my school at the time and that never happened.

Ok well I don’t think he has much of a case then. If your dad needed to get a letter from your school at the time and he didn’t get it then that’s just what happened.
It won’t cost anything to write though and as I said before tell them how the Travis circumstances of your mothers death prevented him from following through.

Da Optimist

splinter65 wrote: »

Da Optimist wrote: »

Yes it was backdated. He thinks he received 17 or 18k but no grant was included. They would have needed a letter from my school at the time and that never happened.

Ok well I don’t think he has much of a case then. If your dad needed to get a letter from your school at the time and he didn’t get it then that’s just what happened.
It won’t cost anything to write though and as I said before tell them how the Travis circumstances of your mothers death prevented him from following through.

What happened was he never told them he had a dependent child so any issue arose seeking a letter from the school never cropped up as they thought he had no dependent child. I've requested letters from my GP and consultant to show I attended them at the time. I've also letters from my school and college along with my mother's death cert showing how she died. My father will write to them and tell them of his trauma of her death and managing a child with a terminal illness at the time.

splinter65

He should do that and they might show a bit of discretion considering the circumstances.

Da Optimist

Thanks of all your assistance Splinter. You've been very helpful. I suffer from Cystic Fibrosis and will enclose a letter from my GP, consultant and paediatric consultant at the time to say I attended at the time of death. I will also enclose my mother's death certificate along with two letters from schools and plc courses I was in at the time.

Is there anything important my father should mention in his letter or how does he best word it?

He did qualify for the widowers contributory pension at the time of death as he had all the contributions from self employment and he was back paid for that period from the death. They are saying they won't pay the grant because when he applied 18 months later for his pension, I was not in full time education. I think this is unfair as my dad qualified for the payment from the time of death and this is a condition and his payment was backdated to reflect this.

Da Optimist

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