Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005

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Death benefit — parents.

[1993 s61(1)]

82.—(1) A parent of the deceased shall be entitled to death benefit where, at the deceased's death, the parent was being wholly or mainly maintained by the deceased, or would but for the relevant accident have been so maintained.

(2) Subject to subsections (3) and (4), the death benefit shall be a pension at the weekly rate set out in column (2) of Part 1 of Schedule 2 , increased, in the case of a person who has attained pensionable age—

(a) by the amount set out in column (6) of Part 1 of Schedule 2 where the beneficiary is living alone, and

(b) by the amount set out in column (8) of Part 1 of Schedule 2 where the beneficiary is ordinarily resident on an island.

(3) Subject to subsection (4), the weekly rate of pension payable to a parent shall be—

(a) at the reduced weekly rate, where the deceased was at death a married person,

(b) at the maximum weekly rate, where the deceased was at death a widower, a widow or a single person—

(i) in any case where the parent is the father and was, at the death of the deceased, incapable of self-support by reason of some physical or mental infirmity and likely to remain permanently so incapable,

(ii) in any case where the parent is the mother, having been, at the death of the deceased, a widow or having thereafter become a widow, or

(iii) in any case where the parent is the mother, not being a widow, and a pension at the maximum weekly rate is not payable to her husband,

(c) at the reduced weekly rate in any other case.

(4) Where a person, to whom subsection (3)(b)(i) applies, ceases at any time to be incapable of self-support by reason of some physical or mental infirmity, the pension shall thereafter be payable at the reduced weekly rate and, where at that time subsection (3)(b) applies to his wife, that pension shall thereafter be payable at the maximum weekly rate.

(5) In this section—

“reduced weekly rate” means the reduced weekly rate of death benefit by way of parent's pension as set out in column (2) at reference 2(b)(i) in Part 1 of Schedule 2 ;

“maximum weekly rate” means the maximum weekly rate of death benefit by way of parent's pension as set out in column (2) at reference 2(b)(ii) in Part 1 of Schedule 2 .

(6) Where a parent was partly maintained by each of 2 or more insured persons who have died as a result of accidents arising out of and in the course of their employments, being insurable (occupational injuries) employments, the parent may be treated for the purposes of this section—

(a) as having received from the last of those insured persons to die contributions to the maintenance of the parent equal to the aggregate amount which those insured persons were together contributing before the first of the accidents happened, and

(b) as having received nothing from the other or others.

(7) A pension under this section payable to a woman who, at the deceased's death, was a widow or an unmarried woman shall not be payable for any period after her remarriage or marriage.

(8) A widow or an unmarried woman shall be disqualified for receiving a pension under this section if and so long as she and any person are cohabiting as husband and wife.

(9) For the purposes of subsections (1) and (6) “parent”, where the deceased was adopted under the Adoption Acts 1952 to 1998, shall be taken as referring to the adopters or the adopter, and includes a step-parent.