Illness Benefit less than Maximum

fiestaman

Hi, looking for some help on illness benefit. My wife has become il and will be out of work for at least 12mts.

Both her and I are full time employed. We submitted the paperwork for the payment and received the letter to say that the total she would receive is €162.90. A good bit short of the €208.

It says it can be appealed but is there any point to this or what would be best to submit in the appeal, has anybody appealed and on been reviewed received the full amount?

It also says you can contact Community welfare officer for Supplementary welfare allowance.

Should we do both or just one? I never thought a state illness payment would be I suppose means tested, the situation is stressful enough without having toworrying about money.

Any help will be much appreciated

Thanks

TooTired123

Here’s what I think has happened. Your wife applied for illness benefit in December. The awarding letter has come with the 2022 rate(€162.90) on it. The new 2023 rate is actually €172.30.

As far as SW can see, your wife’s average weekly wage in 2021 was between €220 and €299.99 per week. That’s why she’s not getting the full amount. Can you or she remember what her wages were in 2021?

fiestaman

Hi thanks for the reply. We read things again and It actually states that it would be based on year 2020 earnings but of coarse covid payments were around then and she was receiving pup for some of it but she was always earning over €300

TooTired123

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120067293#Comment_120067293

If she applied in 2022 then it would be 2020 earnings. As far as SW are concerned her weekly average was less then €300. You can appeal it if you can demonstrate that.

BTW that’s not means testing.

Dempo1

Morning OP as @TooTired123 mentioned DSP are looking at your wife's average earnings for 2020. It is likely she was earning more than €300 PW on average assuming she was on higher rate of PUP which only started to reduce in 2021.

Some folks went on PUP immediately in early March, others over the following months.

Assuming your Spouse was on PUP from March 2020 the payment was €350 PW

I don't know how DSP asesss PUP as an income for the Purposes of assessing illness Benefit albeit a PRSI contribution is applicable for each PUP payment received. The Crux of the issue is why are DSP determining she was earning less than €300 PW.

Your spouse can check employment payslips prior to going on PUP and check on mywelfare, the weekly PUP she recieved during 2020. This will help determine an average weekly income, I just wonder how are DSP looking at PUP as an income which was taxable 🤔

fiestaman

Thanks again for replies. I understand now it's not means tested, we can only assume that a mistake was made on behalf of DSW🤷 She has filled out the appeals form and stated what pay she was getting when working normal before March and then what she was getting when on PUP for the few months so hopefully it can be rectified. Her wages were never under €300 and received €350 PUP when getting that.

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120067554#Comment_120067554

Good Luck , as I suspected she was on the €350 PUP , fingers crossed , It's how DSP are assessing PUP as an Income for the purposes of Illness benefit I am curious about , please let us know how the appeal goes.

fiestaman

Thanks, I will report back when I hear something back

Necro

Just for an FYI, it's only income from employment that is taken into account when calculating the personal rate for IB, earnings from PUP are not included. PRSI contributions were attributed to those on PUP but the earnings are not from employment so therefore that's likely why the income rate is lower.

Whether it's correct or not is up for debate given the circumstances at the time with whole industries being shut down but that's how DSP view it at present.

However from 2nd January the GCY changed to 2021 so she may be entitled to a higher rate of payment from this date if her earnings were higher in 2021. Might be no harm to give the Illness Benefit phone line a call and discuss with them.

fiestaman

Ok thank you. It would be awful if that is the case as through nobody's fault covid hit and now 2yrs later when you fall ill that has an impact. I wounder will thing renew itself then from 1st January, current payments going forward be based on 2021? Il get her to ring the line. Thanks

Necro

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120073861#Comment_120073861

Yeah it changes from the first Monday in January so 2nd Jan this year.

fiestaman

Well that's no so bad then, it's only been 3 payments, so going forward now it should be the full rate as she would have over 300 avg a week for 2021

Dempo1

Thanks Necro & Happy new year 😏 so just so I'm clear , anyone claiming illness benefit in 2023 & that were on PUP in the applicable year (2021) , any PUP payments are not counted towards illness benefit entitlement & rate 🤔

fiestaman

If so, unlucky for anybody who needed illness benefit for 2022

Necro

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120074245#Comment_120074245

Yeah the department doesn't consider it as income from employment basically.. same as any social welfare payment really when calculating the rate of payment.

Whether an exception should be made for PUP is naturally up for debate given the circumstances at the time but that's the current view.

Dempo1

Thanks Necro 😏

fiestaman

So a payment came through today and it €172.30. So she getting the new rate but it doesn't matter we've gone into a new year so it goes by the date you submit and that dictates pay for further more. This is so annoying. If we can't get any joy from DSW il contact a TD and see if they can help as it's totally unfair that covid is taken into account.

ari101

Can you try closing your claim and restarting a new one now if your GP will do same for you?

Dempo1

The fact the payment came through shouldn't affect the appeal process as long as your wife has lodged an appeal within 21 days of payment awarded.

It may be a, long shot but worth persuing. Its likely the PUP that has affected the rate awarded albeit your wife's application was before 2023.

fiestaman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120077600#Comment_120077600

I have thought of this thismorning it might be an option if if could be done

fiestaman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120077649#Comment_120077649

Yea I thought rolling into a new year would mean the payment going forward would be based on 2021 now. Obviously not. If we had known this we could have taken unpaid for 3 weeks and submit 1st January 2023.

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120077996#Comment_120077996

If your wife has commenced the appeal process or the 21 days are not up , it's worth pursuing, particularly if it's the PUP that's the issue but it may not be. Obviously there's no guarantee an appeal would be successful but still worth exploring.

There's many contradictions I've discovered, not intentional of course, I'm heading towards either Invalidity pension or Disability allowance but have discovered some contradictions if applying for either. But have to say , staff at my nearest intero center always helpful & will if at all possible show discretion in Genuine circumstances.

fiestaman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120078078#Comment_120078078

We have sent back the appeals form so we will await the reply. Thanks

TooTired123

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120078131#Comment_120078131

Hi Fiestaman.

Did the letter your wife receive offering her the reduced amount give her an opportunity to “seek a review” of the decision or was it just “appeal”?

Appeals are pretty slow.

Also, what was the grounds of your Appeal?

fiestaman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120079188#Comment_120079188

Not a review, just states on the original letter that came setting out how much she can get that you can appeal. Before being told in the above posts she appealed stating that she was earning more than 300 before covid and 350 on PUP. But it now looks like that that's a none runner as PUP is not taken into account