Citizens Information outlines your entitlements

October 1st was designated the International Day of Older Persons by the United Nations on 14th December 1990.
In Ireland, 30 plus years on, we celebrate this day during “Positive Age Week”.

During the week we celebrate the significant contribution of older people and promote opportunities for full participation in society.

Staff in County Tipperary Citizens Information centres value the contribution of older people to our society. As the cost of living soars they recognise that not all older people access the benefits and entitlements that may be available to them. On their citizensinformation.ie website: you can find a Checklist: entitlements for older people, follow this Link. The lists and links are to help you to check out all the main services and entitlements for older people.

There is a range of state pension payments available to you when you reach the age of 66.

The State Pension Contributory is paid to people who have made enough PRSI contributions throughout their working life. The State Pension Non-Contributory is a means-tested payment available to people who do not qualify for a State Pension Contributory or who only qualify for a reduced rate State Pension Contributory. When you qualify for a state pension you get a personal payment for yourself and you may also get an extra payment for your spouse or partner. This is called an Increase for a Qualified Adult and is means-tested.

Jennifer a Tipperary client tells us “I was really worried about retiring the year before I am 66 as my state pension will not have kicked in, but the information officer explained that if I have the correct contributions I could qualify for the new payment called Benefit Payment for people who retire at 65, they even helped me to fill in the application, it really put my mind at ease.”

When you are in receipt of a state pension you may be entitled to extra benefits depending on your personal circumstances. If you live alone you are entitled to the Living Alone Increase of €22 per week.

You may also qualify for Fuel Allowance to help you with the cost of heating your homes during the winter months. This is a means-tested payment, paid at a rate of €33 per week for 28 weeks from late September to April, you can choose to be paid in two lump sums, the first in late September and the second in early January.

If you are in receipt of both the Living Alone Increase and the Fuel Allowance you will automatically get the Telephone Support Allowance, an extra payment of €2.50 per week, to help with the cost of communications or a home alert system.

Another benefit you may be entitled to is the Household Benefits Package which provides help with the cost of your electricity or gas bills and entitles you to a free TV licence. The package is available to everyone over 70, you do not need to be getting a state pension or satisfy a means test. If you are between 66 and 70 you may get this package if you are in receipt of a state pension and your spouse or partner is a qualified adult on your payment, getting their own qualifying social welfare payment or getting a social welfare benefit payment and satisfy a means test.

When you are in receipt of a state pension and reach 80 years of age you are automatically paid an extra allowance of €10 per week. This increase is not paid to adult dependents.

In addition to the payments mentioned above, should you have an expense that you cannot afford from your weekly income, you may qualify for an Additional Needs Payment. This payment can help people with costs such as an increase in your fuel or electricity bill, funeral expenses, recurring travel costs to the hospital or essential household or vehicle repairs.

Finally additional income can also be earned by renting a room out in your own home.
Darren Ryan, Development Manager explains: “Since May 2022 if you are getting a means- tested social assistance payment from the Department of Social Protection, you can earn up to €14,000 per year for renting out a room in your own home without it affecting your social welfare payment.”

For anyone needing information, advice or who has an advocacy issue they can call a member of the local Citizens Information team in County Tipperary.

They are available from Monday to Friday with their centres are staffed and they are assisting clients by phone and email and have a drop in service available.

They can be contacted at our Offices in Clonmel on (0818) 07 6460, Nenagh on (0818) 07 6470, Roscrea on (0818) 07 6480, Thurles on (0818) 08 6510 and Tipperary Town on (0818) 07 6540 by email thurles@citinfo.ie or visit our website, www.citizensinformation.ie which is packed full of useful information.