Additional Needs Payment
A one-off payment for an essential cost you cannot meet from your own income: a fuel bill, funeral costs, essential furniture, or rent arrears.
- Type
- Means-tested
- Paid
- No fixed amount or schedule
- Taxable
- No
- Administered by
- Department of Social Protection
How much is Additional Needs Payment?
No fixed rate. Assessed case by case
There is no set amount. The payment depends on the need, your income and your circumstances, and is decided by a Community Welfare Officer.
Who can get Additional Needs Payment
- You must be living in Ireland and unable to meet the cost from your own resources.
- You do not need to be getting another social welfare payment.
- You may qualify even if you are working, if your income is low.
The Additional Needs Payment means test
Means-tested, but assessed on your actual circumstances rather than a fixed threshold. You do not have to be getting another social welfare payment to apply.
How your savings are assessed
Supplementary Welfare Allowance only. The least generous of the three: only the first €5,000 is disregarded.
| 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 |
Capital means your savings, investments, stocks, shares and any property other than your own home. Your own home is never assessed. Capital belonging to a spouse, civil partner or cohabitant is included.
Things people get caught by
- Because there is no fixed rate and no strict income limit, this is one of the most under-claimed payments in the system.
What else you might get
Payments interact. These are the ones that commonly go with Additional Needs Payment.
- Supplementary Welfare Allowance
The weekly payment this scheme sits alongside.