If you are applying for a social assistance payment you must satisfy a means test. All your sources of income (for example, cash income, employment, capital and maintenance) are assessed by the Department of Social Protection (DSP). However, under Social Welfare legislation certain items are not counted when assessing your means.
The purpose of this document is to explain how the DSP assesses your means from capital for social welfare payments except for Family Income Supplement. More information on other sources of income and income not taken into account is available in our document on the means test.
To find your means from capital, first you must calculate your total capital value. This means adding together all your sources of capital (for example, property, savings and investments). Then apply the relevant formula below.
The formula for assessing the means from capital for all social welfare payments (except Disability Allowance and Supplementary Welfare Allowance) is as follows:
| Capital | Weekly means assessed |
| First €20,000 | Nil |
| Next €10,000 | €1 per €1,000 |
| Next €10,000 | €2 per €1,000 |
| Balance | €4 per €1,000 |
The formula for assessing the means from capital for Disability Allowance is as follows:
| Capital | Weekly means assessed |
| First €50,000 | Nil |
| Next €10,000 | €1 per €1,000 |
| Next €10,000 | €2 per €1,000 |
| Balance (any capital over €70,000) | €4 per €1,000 |
The formula for assessing the means from capital for Supplementary Welfare Allowance is as follows:
| Capital | Weekly means assessed |
| First €5,000 | Nil |
| Next €10,000 | €1 per €1,000 |
| Next €25,000 | €2 per €1,000 |
| Balance | €4 per €1,000 |
The home in which you live is not included in the assessment of your means from capital unless you are getting an income from it. If you are getting an income from your home (for example, if you have rented a room in the house) that income is assessed. However, income from renting a room in your home is not assessed if you are getting a State Pension (Non-Contributory) or a Widow's/Widower's (Non-Contributory) Pension and not renting the room means that you would be living alone.
Selling your home
If you sell your home, the proceeds of the sale would normally be taken into account. However, the first €190,460.71 of the sale proceeds is not taken into account if you are getting one of the payments listed below and you sell your house in order to buy or rent more suitable alternative accommodation, or to go into a nursing home, or to move in with a person who is getting Carer's Allowance for you.
You must be getting one of the following payments:
Second homes
Capital value: The home in which you live is not included in the assessment of your means from capital – see above. If you own a second house and the house is let, you will be assessed on the capital value of the property. You will not be assessed on the income from the letting. Any outstanding mortgage registered against the property is deducted from the market value to find the capital value.
However, if the mortgage on the home in which you live has been re-structured to raise capital to buy the second property, this re-structured mortgage will not be deducted from the capital assessment of the second property.
More information about the assessment of capital as means can be found on the DSP website.
Rental income: If you have a life interest in a property the rental income is assessed instead of the capital value.
Where property is owned jointly or only by your spouse/partner rental income will be assessed for payment of an Increase for a Qualified Adult with your social insurance payment. However, the capital value will be assessed if the property is not rented – see ‘Capital value’ above.
Rental income is assessed as cash in the means test.
If you have a joint account with your spouse or partner, legally the total amount in the account is owned by each of you. Therefore it can be assessed in full against each of you. However, if both you and your spouse or partner are getting means-tested social assistance payments, it will be assessed either on a shared basis or against only one of you.
For all social assistance payments (except State Pension (Non-Contributory), Blind Pension and Carer's Allowance) your combined capital is assessed using the relevant formula for capital (see 'Rules' above).
State Pension (Non-Contributory), Blind Pension and Carer's Allowance
If you are one of a couple and apply for State Pension (Non-Contributory), Blind Pension or Carer's Allowance your combined capital is halved and this lower amount is assessed using the relevant formula (see 'Rules' above). After you apply the relevant formula the resulting amount is then doubled to get your means from capital.
| Example |
|
John has €20,000 savings and his wife Mary has €20,000 savings, they also have a joint account with €10,000. Mary has applied for Carer's Allowance. Her means from capital is assessed as follows: €20,000 €20,000 €10,000 = €50,000 €50,000 ÷ 2 = €25,000 €25,000 assessed using the formula above = €5 €5 x 2 = €10 Mary's weekly capital means is assessed as €10 |
A means test examines all your sources of income (for example, cash income, employment, capital and maintenance). When the total means for a married or cohabiting couple is calculated, only half will be taken into account.
However, if you are getting Jobseeker's Allowance (JA), Pre-Retirement Allowance (PRETA), Farm Assist (FA) or Disability Allowance (DA) your means are only halved if your spouse/partner is getting certain social welfare payments, a Health Service Executive payment, or is on a FAS or VTOS course and getting an allowance in his/her own right. If your means are halved for JA, PRETA, FA or DA, you will not get an increase for a qualified adult but you will get a half-rate increase for each qualified child.
Find more information about married or cohabiting couples in our document on the means test.
Using the table below - find your total capital value and your weekly means as assessed by the Department of Social Protection.
Capital/Savings
From To Assessed Means
0.00 euro 20,999.99 euro 0.00 euro
21,000.00 euro 21,999.99 euro 1.00 euro
22,000.00 euro 22,999.99 euro 2.00 euro
23,000.00 euro 23,999.99 euro 3.00 euro
24,000.00 euro 24,999.99 euro 4.00 euro
25,000.00 euro 25,999.99 euro 5.00 euro
26,000.00 euro 26,999.99 euro 6.00 euro
27,000.00 euro 27,999.99 euro 7.00 euro
28,000.00 euro 28,999.99 euro 8.00 euro
29,000.00 euro 29,999.99 euro 9.00 euro
30,000.00 euro 30,999.99 euro 10.00 euro
31,000.00 euro 31,999.99 euro 12.00 euro
32,000.00 euro 32,999.99 euro 14.00 euro
33,000.00 euro 33,999.99 euro 16.00 euro
34,000.00 euro 34,999.99 euro 18.00 euro
35,000.00 euro 35,999.99 euro 20.00 euro
36,000.00 euro 36,999.99 euro 22.00 euro
37,000.00 euro 37,999.99 euro 24.00 euro
38,000.00 euro 38,999.99 euro 26.00 euro
39,000.00 euro 39,999.99 euro 28.00 euro
40,000.00 euro 40,999.99 euro 30.00 euro
41,000.00euro 41,999.99 euro 34.00 euro
42,000.00 euro 42,999.99 euro 38.00 euro
43,000.00 euro 43,999.99 euro 42.00 euro
44,000.00 euro 44,999.99 euro 46.00 euro
45,000.00 euro 45,999.99 euro 50.00 euro
46,000.00 euro 46,999.99 euro 54.00 euro
47,000.00 euro 47,999.99 euro 58.00 euro
48,000.00 euro 48,999.99 euro 62.00 euro
49,000.00 euro 49,999.99 euro 66.00 euro
50,000.00 euro 50,999.99 euro 70.00 euro
51,000.00 euro 51,999.99 euro 74.00 euro
52,000.00 euro 52,999.99 euro 78.00 euro
53,000.00 euro 53,999.99 euro 82.00 euro
54,000.00 euro 54,999.99 euro 86.00euro
55,000.00 euro 55,999.99 eur 90.00 euro
56,000.00 euro 56,999.99 euro 94.00 euro
57,000.00 euro 57,999.99 euro 98.00 euro
58,000.00 euro 58,999.99 euro 102.00 euro
59,000.00 euro 59,999.99 euro 106.00 euro
60,000.00 euro 60,999.99 euro 110.00 euro
61,000.00 euro 61,999.99 euro 114.00 euro
62,000.00 euro 62,999.99 euro 118.00 euro
63,000.00 euro 63,999.99 euro 122.00 euro
64,000.00 euro 64,999.99 euro 126.00 euro
65,000.00 euro 65,999.99 euro 130.00 euro
66,000.00 euro 66,999.99 euro 134.00 euro
67,000.00 euro 67,999.99 euro 138.00 euro
68,000.00 euro 68,999.99 euro 142.00 euro
69,000.00 euro 69,999.99 euro 146.00 euro
70,000.00 euro 70,999.99 euro 150.00 euro
71,000.00 euro 71,999.99 euro 154.00 euro
72,000.00 euro 72,999.99 euro 158.00 euro
73,000.00 euro 73,999.99 euro 162.00 euro
74,000.00 euro 74,999.99 euro 166.00 euro
75,000.00 euro 75,999.99 euro 170.00 euro
76,000.00 euro 76,999.99 euro 174.00 euro
77,000.00 euro 77,999.99 euro 178.00 euro
78,000.00 euro 78,999.99 euro 182.00 euro
79,000.00 euro 79,999.99 euro 186.00 euro
80,000.00 euro 80,999.99 euro 190.00 euro
81,000.00 euro 81,999.99 euro 194.00 euro
82,000.00 euro 82,999.99 euro 198.00 euro
83,000.00 euro 83,999.99 euro 202.00 euro
84,000.00 euro 84,999.99 euro 206.00 euro
85,000.00 euro 85,999.99 euro 210.00 euro
86,000.00 euro 86,999.99 euro 214.00 euro
87,000.00 euro 87,999.99 euro 218.00 euro
88,000.00 euro 88,999.99 euro 222.00 euro
89,000.00 euro 89,999.99 euro 226.00 euro
90,000.00 euro 90,999.99 euro 230.00 euro
91,000.00 euro 91,999.99 euro 234.00 euro
92,000.00 euro 92,999.99 euro 238.00 euro
93,000.00 euro 93,999.99 euro 242.00 euro
94,000.00 euro 94,999.99 euro 246.00 euro
95,000.00 euro 95,999.99 euro 250.00 euro
96,000.00 euro 96,999.99 euro 254.00 euro
97,000.00 euro 97,999.99 euro 258.00 euro
98,000.00 euro 98,999.99 euro 262.00 euro
99,000.00 euro 99,999.99 euro 266.00 euro
100,000.00 euro 100,999.99 euro 270.00 euro
101,000.00 euro 101,999.99 euro 274.00 euro
102,000.00 euro 102,999.99 euro 278.00 euro
103,000.00 euro 103,999.99 euro 282.00 euro
104,000.00 euro 104,999.99 euro 286.00 euro
105,000.00 euro 105,999.99 euro 290.00 euro
106,000.00 euro 106,999.99 euro 294.00 euro
107,000.00 euro 107,999.99 euro 298.00 euro
108,000.00 euro 108,999.99 euro 302.00 euro
109,000.00 euro 109,999.99 euro 306.00 euro
110,000.00 euro 110,999.99 euro 310.00 euro
111,000.00 euro 111,999.99 euro 314.00 euro
112,000.00 euro 112,999.99 euro 318.00 euro
113,000.00 euro 113,999.99 euro 322.00 euro
114,000.00 euro 114,999.99 euro 326.00 euro
115,000.00 euro 115,999.99 euro 330.00 euro
116,000.00 euro 116,999.99 euro 334.00 euro
117,000.00 euro 117,999.99 euro 338.00 euro
118,000.00 euro 118,999.99 euro 342.00 euro
119,000.00 euro 119,999.99 euro 346.00 euro
120,000.00 euro 120,999.99 euro 350.00 euro
121,000.00 euro 121,999.99 euro 354.00 euro
122,000.00 euro 122,999.99 euro 358.00 euro
123,000.00 euro 123,999.99 euro 362.00 euro
124,000.00 euro 124,999.99 euro 366.00 euro
125,000.00 euro 125,999.99 euro 370.00 euro
126,000.00 euro 126,999.99 euro 374.00 euro
127,000.00 euro 127,999.99 euro 378.00 euro
128,000.00 euro 128,999.99 euro 382.00 euro
129,000.00 euro 129,999.99 euro 386.00 euro
130,000.00 euro 130,999.99 euro 390.00 euro