Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005

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Total amount payable to a couple.

[1993 s122(1); 1999 s32(1)(a)]

144.—(1) In the case of a couple, where each of the couple is entitled to unemployment assistance or pre-retirement allowance, the total amount payable to them under this Chapter shall not exceed the amount which would be payable if only one of them was entitled to be paid unemployment assistance or pre-retirement allowance, as the case may be, (including any increases thereof, where appropriate) and each of them shall be entitled to be paid one-half of the amount (including any increases thereof, where appropriate) which would be payable to him or her if only one of them were in receipt of unemployment assistance or pre-retirement allowance as the case may be.

(2) (a) In this subsection “relevant benefit or pension” means disability benefit, unemployment benefit, injury benefit, disablement pension, old age (contributory) pension, old age (non-contributory) pension, retirement pension or invalidity pension.

(b) Where one of a couple is entitled to a relevant benefit or pension and the other is entitled to unemployment assistance, the total of the amount payable to them by way of the relevant benefit or pension, as the case may be, and unemployment assistance (in this subsection referred to as “the relevant amount”), shall not exceed the total amount of the relevant benefit or pension, as the case may be, (including any increases thereof, where appropriate), or the total amount of unemployment assistance (including any increases thereof, where appropriate), whichever is the greater (in this subsection referred to as “the greater amount”), that would be payable if only one of the couple were in receipt of the relevant benefit or pension or unemployment assistance, as the case may be, and, if the relevant amount would but for this subsection exceed the greater amount, the amount of unemployment assistance payable to the spouse who is entitled to unemployment assistance shall be reduced by the amount of the excess.

(3) In this section—

“couple” means a married couple who are living together or a man and woman who are not married to each other but are cohabiting as husband and wife;

“spouse” means each person of a couple in relation to the other.

(4) For the purposes of this section, a reference to “unemployment assistance” shall be read as including a reference to pre-retirement allowance.

(5) This section shall not apply in the case of a person who was entitled to or in receipt of pre-retirement allowance before 2 April 1993.