Social Welfare Eligibility
Seanad Éireann — 2026-07-09
============================================================

Charlie McConalogue (FF), Donegal

I thank the Senator for raising this matter, which I am happy to take on behalf of the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Calleary, who apologises for being unable to be here this morning to take it.
The living alone increase is a supplementary payment of €22 per week to those who are aged over 66, living alone and in receipt of a contributory or non-contributory State pension or a contributory bereaved partner's pension. It is also available to those aged over 66 who live alone and are in receipt of a bereaved partner's pension, an incapacity supplement under the occupational injuries benefit scheme or deserted wife's benefit. It is also paid to people aged under 66 who live alone and are in receipt of a disability allowance, invalidity pension, incapacity supplement or blind pension. The living alone increase is not a stand-alone payment. It is only available to those in receipt of one of the specified payments.
Prior to 6 April 1995, civil and public servants, including teachers, did not have access to the full range of social insurance benefits as their terms of employment protected them against the main contingencies of illness and old age, and the risk of unemployment was not considered a factor due to the nature of their employment.
Consequently, such contributors pay less in social insurance contributions in return for fewer social insurance benefits. For example, class D contributors, which includes teachers who started work before 5 April 1995, pay a contribution at a rate of 1.1% on their weekly earnings up to €1,143 and 4.2% on weekly earnings over that amount. Their employers pay a contribution of 2.55% on all employee earnings.
Class D contributors are currently entitled to a bereaved partners' contributory pension, the guardian's contributory payment, occupational injuries benefits, parent's benefit and carer's benefit. Class D contributors are not reckonable for the purpose of entitlement to a State contributory state pension. As such, a retired teacher who paid class D PRSI for their entire working life does not qualify for a State contributory pension. Therefore, a retired teacher in receipt of an occupational pension and no primary payment from the Department of Social Protection does not qualify for the living alone allowance.
Teachers recruited from 6 April 1995 play a class A social insurance contribution of 4.2% on their weekly earnings. Their employers pay a contribution of 9% where an employee's weekly earnings are €552 or less and 11.25% where their employees weekly earnings exceed that. Class A contributors have access to the full range of social insurance benefits, including the State contributory pension which is a qualifying payment for the living alone increase. The value of the State interview pension is integrated with the public service pension in the case of those recruited after 6 April 1995 and before 1 January 2013. Unlike those employed before April 1995, civil and public servants will receive their full pension entitlement under the public service pension.
There are no circumstances where the living alone increase can be paid to people who are not in receipt of a primary qualifying payment from the Department of Social protection or who do not meet the living alone eligibility criteria. Any change to the qualifying period for this payment will have to be considered in an overall policy and budgetary context. I thank the Senator.

---

Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted.

Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-07-09/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:11+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-07-09