Family Income Supplement
Internal Guidelines used in processing claims
Index
Description of Scheme
Information Leaflet
Legislation
Administration
Qualifying Conditions in Summary:
Qualifying Conditions in Detail
A. Full Time Remunerative Employment
B Qualified Child/ren
C Average weekly income
What Counts as Family Income?
What does not Count as Family Income?
Assessable Earnings:
Calculation of Average Family Income
Special Categories
Disqualifications
Absence from the State:
Prison
Trade Dispute
Late Claims
Rates Structure
Extra Benefits
Overlapping Provisions
Claims
Late Claims
Documentation
Investigation of Claim
Decisions
Appeals
Payment
Duration of Payment
Maintenance
Certification of ongoing entitlement
Review
Suspension of payment
Description of scheme
Family Income Supplement (FIS) is a regular weekly tax-free Social Welfare payment. The target group of FIS are people who are working for 19 hours or more per week and are maintaining one or more children.
The Scheme was introduced in 1984.
Information Leaflet
"Family Income Supplement" SW 22
Legislation
The main provisions relating to FIS are contained in Part 6 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act, 2005.
Administration
The scheme is administered by FIS Section, Department of Social Protection, Government Buildings, Ballinalee Road, Longford.
Qualifying Conditions:
Summary
The claimant must:
* Be an employee in full-time remunerative employment for 38 hours or more every fortnight (19 hours per week) which is likely to last for at least 3 months.
* Have at least one qualified child who is normally living with him/her or is part of a family and being supported by him/her
* Have an average weekly income below a prescribed amount
Entitlement is not affected by whether the claimant is
- married or unmarried,
- living with a spouse or a civil partner/cohabitant, or
- a one parent family
Qualifying Conditions in Detail
A. Full Time Remunerative Employment
The claimant must be in employment as an employee, under a contract of service; self-employment does not qualify as employment in this context. The spouse or civil partner/cohabitant may however be self-employed and income from such self-employment is assessed in relation to the income condition.
Employees who have a contract that specifies that they are paid only on the basis of work carried out (i.e. are not paid a basic wage) are considered to be in self-employment and do not qualify for FIS.
Full-time employment is defined as employment for 38 hours or more per fortnight which is expected to last for at least 3 months.
Article 175 of Social Welfare (Consolidated Claims, Payment and Control) Regulations 2007 refers.
The following types of employment do not fulfil this condition:
- casual work
- seasonal work of less than 3 months.
- community employment (CE)
- Rural Social Scheme
- employment under the part-time job opportunities programme arranged by the council of religious of Ireland (CORI).
- TÚS (Community Work Placement Initiative)
The following types of employment are acceptable where a person works 19 hours weekly or more:
- job initiative schemes
- Social Economy Programme
- part time job incentive schemes.
The condition regarding the number of weekly hours worked may be satisfied by combining the hours worked by the claimant and by his/her spouse or civil partner/cohabitant where both are employees. All hours combined in this way must satisfy the normal rules (e.g. hours from self-employment or CE are not counted).
A claimant may engage in self-employment in addition to insurable employment during the period of his/her FIS claim if the nature of the insurable employment fulfils the qualifying conditions. Any income earned from such self-employment is assessable for the purposes of determining entitlement to FIS.
B Qualified Child/ren
A claimant must have at least one qualified child normally living with him/her or part of a family supported by him/her.
Or
In the case of parents who are separated, a parent who is wholly or mainly maintaining a former spouse can qualify for FIS. However, only one FIS payment can be made in respect of any family.
A qualified child is any child under age 18, or aged 18 to 22 if in full-time day education.
A person included in one particular family for any period for FIS purposes shall not be regarded as a member of any other family during that period.
C Average weekly income
The average weekly income of the claimant (and spouse orcivil partner/cohabitant) must be below a prescribed income limit. These income limits are reviewed annually and the current limits are given in the Department's rates of payment booklet SW 19.
What Counts as Family Income?
The items counted as income are:
- The claimant's assessable earnings
- The claimant's spouse/ civil partner's/ cohabitant's assessable earnings
- Normal net weekly value of any income the claimant or his/her spouse/partner may have from self-employment
- Income from occupational pensions
- Income from subsidiary employment e.g. fire fighting
- Benefit in kind
- Working Tax Credit from DSS in Northern Ireland.
- Rental Income from the letting of property or land
- Any other income a claimant or his/her spouse/civil partner/ cohabitant may have including social welfare payments, and any maintenance payments but excluding those listed below.
- Carer’s Allowance
1/3 assessed in 2012, 2/3 in 2013 and total in 2014
The following Social Welfare and Health Service Executive payments are not counted as income for this purpose:
- Child Benefit
- Domiciliary Care Allowance
- Foster Child Allowance
- Guardian's Payment (Contributory) or Guardian's Payment (Non-Contributory)
- Rent Allowance for tenants affected by the De-Control of Rents
- Supplementary Welfare Allowance
Other income which is also not counted:
- Income from a charitable organisation (Unless from employment)
- Unearned income (for example interest on savings)
- Income from providing accommodation to students studying Irish in Gaeltacht areas under a scheme administered by the Minister for the Gaeltacht.
Assessable Earnings:
Assessable earnings for FIS purposes is average gross pay minus tax, minus PRSI (including, Universal Social Charge, Superannuation, Contributions to PRSA) and Public Service Pension Levy.
Any extra income a claimant and his/her spouse/civil partner/ cohabitant have from employment such as, overtime, bonuses, allowances or commission is also counted.
Calculation of average family income
If a person is paid weekly or fortnightly, his/her weekly income is based on the weekly average of assessable earnings in the 4 week period before s/he makes a claim.
If a person is paid monthly, his/her average weekly income is worked out using weekly average assessable earnings in the 2 month period before s/he makes a claim.
If a person's spouse/civil partner/ cohabitant is self-employed, his/her income over the 12 month period before the claim is made (divided by 52) is used to work out his/her average weekly income.
However, where the above periods would not reflect a true assessment of income, a Deciding Officer or an Appeals Officer may choose a more representative period as the basis of calculation. The most recent P60 is often used to calculate the average income from employment.
Special Categories
A lone parent on low earnings may be entitled to FIS in addition to One-Parent Family Payment, Deserted Wife's Benefit or Widow's or Widower's (Contributory) Pension.
A person receiving a Back to Work Allowance as an employee may also qualify for a FIS payment.
In these cases the social welfare payment is assessable as means.
Under the Maternity Protection Act 1994, a woman who qualifies for Maternity Benefit is entitled to claim FIS. Employees who qualify for Health & Safety leave or Adoptive Benefit are also entitled to claim FIS.
(See also paragraph re <Overlapping Provisions>)
A person living in Northern Ireland but working in the Republic of Ireland may also qualify for a FIS payment.
Absence from the State:
FIS is not payable for any period where the claimant is residing outside the State other than those residing in Northern Ireland but working in the Republic of Ireland.
Prison
FIS is not paid for periods a claimant spends in prison.
Trade Dispute
A person taking part in a trade dispute is not eligible for FIS.
Late Claims
A person is disqualified for payment of FIS for any period before the date on which the claim is made.
(See exceptions under "Late claims")
Rates Structure
FIS payment is 60% of the difference between the average weekly assessable income of the family and the income limit for the family size. In assessing the family income, any fraction of EUR1.00 is treated as EUR1.00. If the claimant qualifies for a weekly FIS payment of less than EUR20.00 per week, a minimum rate FIS of EUR20.00 is payable.
Extra Benefits
A person getting FIS may also be entitled to:
- Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance. (This scheme is administered by the Health Service Executive and enquiries should be made at the local Health Centre)
- From June 2007 FIS is assessable on Rent/Mortgage Interest Supplement entitlement from your local Health Service Executive but is subject to the additional income disregards applying to those schemes. See separate guidelines on SWA.
Entitlement to a medical card is not affected by receipt of FIS.
FIS is not payable to a person who is in receipt of:
- Community Employment Scheme payment
- Part Time Job Opportunities Scheme payment
- Jobseeker's Benefit/Allowance*/TUS
- State Pension (Transition)*, or
- Pre-Retirement Allowance*
- Rural Social Scheme
FIS is also not payable to a person for whom an Increase for Qualified Adult (IQA) is in payment on any of the above claims.
Where enquiries are received from such a person, s/he should be advised that the FIS payment can be higher than the IQA, and that s/he may apply for FIS instead of the IQA.
If a claimant is in receipt of Illness Benefit for up to 6 weeks, it does not affect his/her entitlement to FIS, but if a person is absent from work through illness for more than 6 weeks, payment of FIS is stopped for the remainder of the period of absence.
Where a child under 18 claims One Parent Family Payment in her own right, she is continued to be paid for as a dependent on the FIS claim until she reaches her eighteenth birthday (or 21 if in full-time education.
Continued payment for a qualified child (See separate guideline on Increases) can be paid for 13 weeks after a person takes up employment although continued child payment & FIS cannot be paid concurrently. However, where a person is paid a continued child payment during a period in which they would have been entitled to FIS, and if the rate of FIS would have been higher, the difference between the two rates is paid backdated to the date on which the continued child payment was awarded. Where the rate of continued child payment is less than the rate of FIS, the child payment must expire before FIS is awarded.
Claims
FIS must be claimed by, and is payable to, the person in the family who is in employment. Where both partners are employed and qualify for FIS, the partner with the higher income is the one entitled to claim.
The claimant should complete form FIS 1 in full and sign the declaration and forward it with the relevant documentation. However if obtaining the documentation would delay the claim, it may be sent on after the initial claim is made.
In the case of a couple who are married/co-habiting civil partnership's, both partners taking part in the claim are claimants and are equally liable in the event of an overpayment.
However, the claim can be backdated for up to 6 months where the person can prove to the satisfaction of the Deciding Officer or Appeals Officer that s/he satisfied the qualifying conditions during that period and that throughout the period there was good cause for the delay in making the claim.
Where a person was claiming JA or JB while employed part-time and it is discovered that s/he would have been entitled to FIS at a higher rate if s/he had made a claim, the claim for JA or JB may be accepted as a claim for FIS and the JA or JB treated as paid on account of FIS.
Documentation
The claimant is responsible for the submission of the necessary certificates, documents, information and evidence required, including P60, current payslip, and (for children aged between 18 & 22 in full-time education) a written statement from the school/college confirming attendance. Where the person applying is separated, all amounts of maintenance received or paid out must be verified e.g. copy of court order/maintenance agreement should be attached.
An Employer's Declaration is incorporated into the claim form (FIS 1) which must be completed and signed by the claimant's employer. The Employer should stamp the declaration to certify that the information is accurate.
In some instances more information may be required before a decision on the claim can be made. E.g. for a first time applicant in new employment, projected earnings details may be requested.
Investigation of Claim
An allowance cannot be awarded until all the necessary documentation has been submitted. Where it is clear from the details supplied by the claimant that all of the qualifying conditions are fulfilled, or that one or more are clearly not fulfilled, the file will be referred to a Deciding Officer for decision.
Where there is doubt about the fulfilment of a condition (e.g. where a claimant may be self-employed), the claim may be referred for further investigation as follows:
Questions as to whether an employee/employer relationship exists or whether a person is an employee or self-employed are referred to the Department's Scope Section to determine.
Other matters regarding income or family circumstances may be referred to a Social Welfare Inspector for investigation.
Decisions
Claims are decided by Deciding Officers appointed by the Minister under Section 299 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act 2005. A notification of the decision is issued to the claimant, including reasons for disallowance in relevant cases.
Closing Claims
If a claimant fails to furnish all documentation necessary to establish entitlement to Family Income Supplement Payment, or fails to attend for interview with a Social Welfare Inspector, a determination cannot be made on the claim in the absence of the information/documentation outstanding.
In this event, the claimant's claim is closed. Any future claim will only be considered from the date of re-application.
The closure of a claim in these circumstances may not be appealed to the Social Welfare Appeals Office. Any person who is dissatisfied with the decision may appeal to a Senior Deciding Officer within Family Income Supplement Section.
Appeals
A person who is dissatisfied with the decision made on his/her claim may appeal to an Appeals Officer.
Payment
FIS is paid weekly in advance on a Thursday by direct payment into a bank or building society account. Where a claimant does not have a bank or building society account they should contact FIS Section to discuss alternative arrangements. Payment is made from the Thursday following the effective date of claim, which is normally the date it was received in the Department.
(See also separate guideline on "Payments" with regard to: Time limit on cashing payable orders
Duration of Payment
FIS is paid at the same rate for 52 weeks (provided the claimant remains employed) and continues to satisfy the qualifying conditions.
Changes which do not affect the claimant's entitlement to FIS are:
- increase/decrease in earnings
- qualified child leaves full-time education (once this is not your only qualified child)
- qualified child dies. (Once this is not your only qualified child)
Changes which affect the claimant's entitlement to FIS are:
- reduction in hours below 38 per fortnight
- claimant ceases work
- claimant changes to casual employment, seasonal work less then 3 months, Community Employment, Rural Social Scheme, Part-Time Job Opportunities or work on a programme organised by the Council Of Religious Ireland.
- claimant ceases insurable employment and becomes self-employed
- claimant is in receipt of Illness Benefit for more than 6 weeks
- claimant stops work because of a trade dispute
The only change which entitles a claimant to apply for an increase in rate during the 52 week period is:
If the claimant dies the FIS Allowance continues to be payable to the next of kin, for 6 weeks afterwards or for the remainder of the 52 week period of payment whichever is the lesser.
(See separate guideline on Payment Methods)
Maintenance
Certification of ongoing entitlement
The onus is on the claimant to notify the Department of any changes in his or her circumstances, and this is explained to FIS claimants on the back of the award letter (FIS 86) that they receive when their claim is awarded.
FIS Section is notified of cases where persons in receipt of FIS have claimed Illness Benefit. A letter is issued by FIS Section to these people if they are still in receipt of Illness Benefit 6 weeks after their incapacity has commenced informing them that their payment is being suspended.
Review
A review may be carried out at any stage after the claim is put into payment
- if there is a doubt concerning a person's eligibility for FIS, or,
- by way of random spot-check.
Suspension of payment
Where a question arises as to whether the conditions for the receipt of FIS are fulfilled, and initial enquiries fail to establish entitlement, payment may be suspended in whole or in part until the issue has been decided.
This will be done if there is reason to believe that:
- the claimant is no longer alive, or is not resident at the given address;
- the claimant is no longer in full‑time remunerative employment
- the claimant has ceased insurable employment and becomes self-employed
- the claimant is taking part in a Community Employment scheme or Rural Social Scheme
- the claimant has become unemployed
- the claimant is in receipt of Illness Benefit longer than 6 weeks
- the claimant has stopped work because of a trade dispute
- the means of the claimant were not fully disclosed when making the initial claim or
- the means have increased and s/he has failed to provide the requested details within a reasonable period of time.
The notification of award (FIS 86) sets out the changes in circumstances which may affect FIS.