A number of significant changes are coming to the social welfare system in January 2022.
A host of Budget 2022 schemes will finally come into force at the start of next month with social welfare recipients in for hikes.
From January 1, The maximum rate of all weekly social welfare payments will increase by €5 with proportional increases for qualified adults and people on reduced rates of payment.
People aged 25 and under who are getting a reduced rate of Jobseeker’s Allowance will get the full €5 increase.
The weekly rate for a qualified child will increase by €2 from €38 to €40 for children under 12 years of age. It will increase by €3 from €45 to €48 for children aged 12 years and over.
The income threshold for Fuel Allowance will increase by €20 from €100 to €120.
The Living Alone Increase will rise by €3 from €19 to €22.
January will also see the period during which Carer’s Allowance and Domiciliary Care Allowance can be paid for children in hospital will be extended from 3 months to 6 months
While PhD scholarships will be disregarded in the means test for Blind Pension.
The final social welfare change will see the weekly income threshold for the higher rate of employer’s PRSI will increase from €398 to €410 to ensure that there is no incentive to reduce the working hours for a full-time employee on the increased minimum wage.
And amid a raft of changes, officials have warned that they will always track down overpayments, and if it is determined that this overpayment was as a result of fraud, you could be in serious trouble.
A criminal prosecution is on the cards if the Department believes you made a fraudulent claim, and if found guilty you could face three years in prison or a large fine.
Here are the seven most common errors that result in social welfare fraud, according to Citizens Information:
- Concurrent working and claiming: Where a person claims a payment, such as Jobseeker's Benefit/Allowance or an illness payment, but takes up employment and does not notify the Department.
- Non-disclosure of means: Where a person claims a means-tested payment but does not fully disclose their means or sources of income. Note that If you or your spouse, civil partner or cohabitant are getting a means tested social welfare payment and save a portion of this payment each week, these savings as well as savings from most other sources will be taken into account as part of your means. It is important to notify the Department of these savings to avoid an overpayment.
- Multiple claiming or personation: Where a person makes a claim for more than one social welfare payment or by assuming and falsely using the identity and PPS Number of another person.
- Life events: Where a person continues to claim a payment to which he/she is no longer entitled such as a lone parent who marries or is cohabiting, or someone who continues to claim Carer’s Allowance where caring duties have ceased.
- Cohabitation: People may be living as a family unit and fail to notify this to the Department to qualify for higher rates of payments, or payments to which they may not be entitled.
- Social insurance: Where employers fail to maintain appropriate employment/wage records and where non-compliance or non-remittance of PRSI (Pay Related Social Insurance) occurs.
- Non-residency in the State: Where a person claims a social welfare payment which requires residency, and he/she is no longer resident.
