Other social welfare payments and the Working Family Payment (WFP) may go hand in hand to provide financial support. If you receive WFP, you might also be eligible for the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance. Mastering Working Family Payment Eligibility
It’s worth noting that the Back to Work Family Dividend (BTWFD) and WFP can be received simultaneously. Importantly, the income test for WFP doesn’t consider the BTWFD.
However, there are certain situations where you cannot receive WFP. If you are on programs or social welfare payments like the Community Employment Scheme, Rural Social Scheme, Tús scheme, Jobseeker’s Benefit, Jobseeker’s Allowance, Jobseeker’s Transitional payment, Farm Assist, or Part-Time Job Incentive Scheme, you are ineligible for WFP. In such cases, your spouse, civil partner, or cohabitant may still be able to claim WFP, but the Increase for a Qualified Adult (IQA) will cease, and their social welfare payment will count as income for your WFP. Any Increase for a Qualified Child (IQC) may also be affected.
Conversely, if your spouse, civil partner, or cohabitant is receiving one of these payments, you could qualify for WFP, but they won’t receive an IQA for you.
Single parents may be eligible for WFP in addition to their One-Parent Family Payment, Deserted Wife’s Benefit, or Widow’s, Widower’s, or Surviving Civil Partner’s (Contributory) Pension.
During maternity leave, adoptive leave, paternity leave, or parent’s leave, you can claim WFP if you meet its conditions and already have a child. However, if you’re pregnant with no other children, you’ll need to wait until after the baby’s birth to qualify for WFP.
It’s important to note that you cannot continue to claim WFP if you take additional unpaid maternity leave or adoptive leave, lose your job after returning to work, or voluntarily resign.
Furthermore, if you’re receiving Adoptive Benefit, Maternity Benefit, Paternity Benefit, or Parent’s Benefit and meet the criteria for both, you can still receive WFP alongside these benefits.
When it comes to maintenance (financial support for separated parents), WFP eligibility can depend on specific conditions:
- If you’re a separated parent living with your children or wholly supporting your ex-spouse, ex-civil partner, or ex-cohabitant with whom the children reside, you may qualify for WFP.
- “Wholly maintaining” means that the maintenance you provide should be the primary source of income for your ex-spouse or partner. They must not have more than €100 a week in their own income and cannot be married, in a civil partnership, or cohabiting.
WFP is typically awarded for 52 weeks, during which an ex-partner included in your WFP claim cannot receive WFP separately or be included in another person’s WFP claim.
If you’re a separated parent paying maintenance, you could qualify for WFP. However, the person receiving maintenance from you must not be eligible for WFP. You need to provide written evidence of the maintenance payments.
Maintenance payments for a second family, mandated by a court order or legally binding agreement, will not be deducted from the income considered for WFP.
Maintenance is assessed in the means test for WFP and includes payments to you and payments for your children. If you receive maintenance from multiple sources, all payments are totaled and assessed as your means. However, some of the maintenance payments you spend on housing are not counted as income in the WFP means test. Up to a maximum of €95.23 per week can be offset against maintenance payments for housing costs, with half of the remaining balance assessed as means. You must provide proof of rent or mortgage payments.
Notably, non-cash benefits are not assessed as means. For instance, if your ex-spouse or ex-partner makes rent or mortgage payments under a maintenance agreement, it is not counted in the assessment.
Mastering Working Family Payment Eligibility – additional financial supports can be found https://whatsgoingonireland.ie/departments/
Apply for a working family payment https://services.mywelfare.ie/en/topics/parents-children-family/working-family-payment/