Fuel Allowance

Rules

You may qualify for a Fuel Allowance if you are getting:

• State Pension (Contributory) or State Pension (Non-Contributory)
• Widow's, Widower's or Surviving Civil Partner's (Contributory) Pension or Widow's, Widower's or Surviving Civil Partner's (Non-Contributory) Pension
• Incapacity Supplement under the Occupational Injuries Benefit scheme
• Blind Pension
• Invalidity Pension
• Disability Allowance
• Deserted Wife's Benefit or Allowance
• One-Parent Family Payment
• Guardian's Payment (Contributory) or Guardian's Payment (Non-Contributory)
• Farm Assist
• Pre-Retirement Allowance
• Prisoner's Wife's Allowance
• Basic Supplementary Welfare Allowance for more than 455 days (over 15 months - it is paid on a 7-day week basis so 15 months’ payment is reached after day 455)
• Jobseeker's Allowance (JA) for more than 390 days (over 15 months - it is paid on a 6-day week basis so 15 months’ payment is reached after day 390). Fuel Allowance is payable to people who have been getting Jobseeker’s Allowance for more than 390 days, if they satisfy the relevant qualifying conditions. Days of unemployment on Jobseeker's Benefit count towards the 390 days if the Jobseeker’s Benefit claim was immediately before the award of Jobseeker’s Allowance. You can keep your Fuel Allowance if you move from One-Parent Family Payment, Carer’s Allowance or Jobseeker’s Transitional payment to JA.
• Jobseeker's Transitional payment
• Death Benefit under the Occupational Injuries Scheme
• Social Security Pension from an EE/EEA country or a country with whom Ireland has a bilateral social security agreement (provided there is an equivalent Irish payment).
• Or if you are taking part in certain schemes - Back to Work Allowance, Back to Work Enterprise Allowance (BTWEA), Rural Social Scheme, Tús, JobBridge, Revenue Job Assist or Community Employment and are entitled to keep your secondary benefits

And

You live alone or only with:

• A dependent spouse, civil partner or cohabitant and/or dependent children
• Other people getting one of the qualifying payments who would also be eligible for a Fuel Allowance in their own right
• A person who is getting Carer's Allowance or Carer's Benefit and is caring for you or for your dependent spouse, partner or cohabitant
• A person getting short-term Jobseeker's Allowance or basic Supplementary Welfare Allowance

And

You and other members of your household are unable to provide for your heating needs from your own resources.

You will not qualify for a Fuel Allowance if:

• Your heating needs are met under a deed transferring property
• You live with someone who is not getting one of the qualifying payments for the Fuel Allowance
• You are on a contributory payment and have income above the means test limits (see below)

Carer's Allowance

Carer's Allowance is not a qualifying payment for Fuel Allowance. However you may qualify for Fuel Allowance if you are getting half-rate Carer's Allowance and another qualifying social welfare payment:

• If you are getting a non-contributory social welfare payment and a half-rate Carer's Allowance then Fuel Allowance is payable (if you meet all the criteria).
• If you are getting a contributory social welfare payment and a half-rate Carer's Allowance then the value of the half-rate Carer's Allowance will be assessed in the means test for Fuel Allowance (see below).

Means test for Fuel Allowance

Fuel Allowance is a means-tested payment. If you are getting a non-contributory payment you are accepted as satisfying the means test. If you are on an employment support scheme or if you are getting a Back to Education Allowance you are entitled to keep your Fuel Allowance if you continue to satisfy the conditions – including the means test.

The Fuel Allowance means test is linked to the maximum rate of the State Pension (Contributory).

You can have a combined weekly income of €100 above the maximum State Pension (Contributory) for your situation and still be eligible for a Fuel Allowance. This means that you can have capital/savings, providing they are less than €58,000, and be eligible for a Fuel Allowance. (€58,000 is equivalent to just over €100 a week under the capital means assessment rules.)

For example:

• The assessable income limit for a single person under 80 is €338.30 (€100 plus €238.30)
• The assessable income limit for a couple (where the qualified adult is under 66) is €497.10 (€100 plus €238.30 plus €158.80)
• The assessable income limit for a couple (where the qualified adult is 66 or over) is €551.80 (€100 plus €238.30 plus €213.50)

If you are over 80, add an extra €10 to the appropriate DSP payment rate.

Getting a pension or benefit from another country

If you are getting a pension/benefit or equivalent payment from a country covered by EU Regulations or a country with which Ireland has a Bilateral Social Security Agreement (provided there is an equivalent Irish payment), you may qualify for a Fuel Allowance provided you satisfy the qualifying conditions mentioned above and you are:

• Resident in Ireland

And

• Aged 66 or over

Or

• Under 66 and getting an Invalidity Pension (for over 12 months), a Widow's, Widower's or Surviving Civil Partner's Pension or an equivalent payment from another country.

Where more than one person in a household qualifies

Only one Fuel Allowance payment will be paid to a household. If two or more people who each qualify for a Fuel Allowance are living in the same household, a single Fuel Allowance is paid to one qualified person in that household. The table shows who should apply for a Fuel Allowance in the case of two or more qualifying individuals living in the same house.