Rules

To qualify for a One-Parent Family Payment you must:

• Be the parent, step-parent, adoptive parent or legal guardian of a qualified child.
• Be the main carer of at least one qualified child and that child must live with you. One-Parent Family Payment is not payable if the parents have joint equal custody of a child or children.
• Have earnings of €425 or less per week
• Satisfy a means test
• Be habitually resident
• Not be living with a spouse, civil partner or cohabiting

If you are separated, divorced or your civil partnership is dissolved you must:

• Have been living apart from your spouse or civil partner for at least 3 months
• Have made efforts to get maintenance from your spouse or civil partner (if your civil partner is the parent of the child/ren)
• Be inadequately maintained by your spouse or civil partner (if your civil partner is the parent of the child/ren)

If your spouse or civil partner is in prison:

• He/she must have been sentenced to at least six months in prison or have spent at least six months in custody.

If you were not married to the parent of your child/children you do not need to seek maintenance from the other parent when you first claim OFP. However you must make efforts to seek maintenance from the other parent to continue to be eligible for OFP.

You can read more about what making an effort to seek maintenance means for separated parents and for unmarried parents. See also 'Liability to maintain family' below.

Income from maintenance

All income from maintenance is assessed as means. This includes maintenance for you and maintenance to you for any of your children. If you are getting maintenance from more than one person it will be added together and the total will be assessed as means. However, your rent or mortgage repayment up to a maximum of €95.23 per week can be offset against maintenance payments. Half the balance is then assessed as means and your social welfare payment will be reduced by that amount. You must provide proof of rent or mortgage payments. You can get more information on how maintenance is assessed as means.

Liability to maintain family

Men and women are required, under the law, to pay maintenance to a dependent spouse, civil partner or cohabitant and any dependent children who are not living with them. These people are called 'liable relatives'. If you are a liable relative and fail to pay enough maintenance to your spouse, civil partner or cohabitant and/or dependent child(ren), you must contribute to the cost of the One-Parent Family Payment, which is paid to your family.

The Maintenance Recovery Unit of the Department of Social Protection will contact the liable relative if they have not paid enough maintenance, when One-Parent Family Payment is awarded. You can contact the Maintenance Recovery Unit on (071) 96 72599 for more information. You can also find out more about ‘Liability to Maintain Family’.

Age limit for a qualified child

To get a One-Parent Family Payment you must have at least one qualified child below the relevant age limit.

The age limit is being gradually reduced to 7 years of age. This reduction to the age limit is being applied to new and existing customers on a phased basis. The changes announced will not affect existing claimants until 2013, because the age limit for customers awarded One Parent Family Payment prior to and after 12 April 2011, have not been changed.

Customers whose claim for One Parent Family Payment commenced between 27 April 2011 and April 2012, are only entitled to receive the payment until their youngest child reaches 14 years. This was announced in Budget 2011.

Over the period 2012 to 2015 your entitlement to One Parent Family Payment depends on:

• When your initial claim for One-Parent Family Payment was made and
• The age of your youngest child

Examples

Mary started her claim before 27 April 2011. Her youngest child turns 11 in 2012. This means that Mary's payment will cease in 2015 when her child turns 14 and the age limit drops to 7.

Jack started his claim between 27 April 2011 and April 2012. His youngest child is 14 in 2012. Jack will retain the payment until his youngest child is 14 in 2012. His payment will cease from that date.

Magda will start her claim after April 2012. Her youngest child is 9 in 2012. The age limit is 10 in 2013 so she will retain the payment until her youngest child's tenth birthday in 2013. From this date she will no longer be eligible for the payment.

Exceptions to the age limits

Domiciliary Care Allowance

If you are getting Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) for a child, then OFP will continue until the child reaches 16 and can apply for Disability Allowance. You will also get an Increase for a Qualified Child (IQC) for any other children in the family until they reach 18 (or 22 if in full-time education) while DCA (and OFP) is in payment.

Death of a spouse, partner or civil partner

If you are a new claimant and you are parenting alone because of the death of your spouse, partner or civil partner you may get the OFP for 2 years from the date of death or until your youngest child reaches 14.

Full-time education

From January 2013, if you were getting OFP before 27 April 2011, payment will stop when your youngest child reaches 17 years of age. However if your youngest child is in full-time education and aged between 17 and 22 years, payment will continue until the end of the 2012-2013 academic year. When the academic year ends depends where your child is in the educational cycle. The end of the academic year is:

• End of May or start of June for students completing a course
• 31 August for 2nd and 3rd level students who have not completed their cycle or course
• 23 October if the student has completed their Leaving Certificate

Payments for older children

If you are entitled to a One-Parent Family Payment based on the age of the youngest child in the family, payment of an Increase for a Qualified Child (IQC) will continue for other children in the family until they reach 18 (or 22 if in full-time education).

One-Parent Family Payment and EU Regulations

From 5 May 2005, EU citizens, EEA citizens and Swiss nationals, who are employed or self-employed in Ireland and who are paying into the Irish Social Insurance System do not have to meet the habitual residence criteria to qualify for One-Parent Family payment.

If you are an EU/EEA citizen or Swiss national, you can also get One-Parent Family Payment if you become unemployed and are getting Jobseeker's Benefit. You must meet all other qualifying criteria for One-Parent Family Payment.

One-Parent Family Payment and Deserted Wife's Benefit

If you had to transfer from Deserted Wife’s Benefit to One-Parent Family Payment to be accepted as a participant on a Community Employment Scheme, you can now apply to have your entitlement to Deserted Wife's Benefit restored. While Deserted Wife's Benefit is closed to new applicants, it is still paid to those who had qualified for it before 2 January 1997.

The maximum weekly rate of payment for Deserted Wife’s Benefit is higher than the maximum weekly rate of payment for One-Parent Family Payment. If you qualify to have your entitlement to Deserted Wife’s Benefit restored you may also be due arrears.

One-Parent Family Payment and work

You can work and get One-Parent Family Payment. The amount of payment you get depends on your weekly means.

Income disregards

• The first €130 of your gross weekly earnings is not taken into account (or disregarded). This means that you can earn up to €130 per week and qualify for the full One-Parent Family Payment.
• Half the remainder of your gross earnings up to €425 per week is assessed as means. If you earn between €130 and €425 per week you may qualify for a reduced payment. SW 19 Social Welfare Rates of Payment booklet shows the amount of OPF payable with your means.

It is proposed to reduce the income disregards for OFP further over the next 4 years.

Social insurance contributions, superannuation/PRSA contributions and trade union subscriptions are not taken into account in the assessment of earnings. However, your gross earnings must be below €425 before any deductions are allowed.

Additional supports

You may qualify for Family Income Supplement (FIS), if you are working for at least 19 hours a week. You can continue to claim One-Parent Family Payment and your FIS payment is not counted as means. Find out more about Family Income Supplement.

If you take up full-time work you may be eligible for extra tax allowances under the Revenue Job Assist scheme. If you want to become self-employed, you may qualify for the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance.

You can return to education through the Back to Education Programme and retain your One-Parent Family Payment, under certain conditions.

Transitional payments

From 5 January 2012, the temporary payment of half-rate One-Parent Family Payment where the recipient's earnings exceed €425 per week will no longer be available. If you are already getting a half-rate payment, your payment will not be affected.

If your pay from work is reduced

You may be entitled to an increase in your One-Parent Family Payment if your pay is reduced. To get an increase in your One-Parent Family Payment send a current payslip (showing your reduced pay) with a letter from your employer, confirming your new work situation, to the Social Welfare Local Office dealing with your claim.

If your pay is reduced and you are getting Family Income Supplement (FIS), your FIS payment will stay the same. If the number of hours you work each week is reduced to below 19 hours (38 hour per fortnight) you are no longer entitled to FIS. You should notify the FIS section if the hours you work fall below the minimum requirement.

You may be entitled to an increase in your Rent Supplement. If you rent from a local authority or housing association you should contact them to find out if you are entitled to a reduction in your rent. If you are not getting a medical card or GP visit card you should find out if you now qualify.

Credited contributions

If you are getting a One-Parent Family Payment and take time off work following the birth of a child you will get credited contributions.