Social Welfare Act, 1990

Payment of death benefit by way of parent's pension.

50.— (1) Section 51 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for subsection (3) of the following subsections:

“(3) Subject to subsection (3A), 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.

(3A) Where a person, to whom the provisions of subparagraph (i) of subsection (3) (b) apply, 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, if at that time the provisions of subsection (3) (b) apply to his wife, that pension shall thereafter be payable at the maximum weekly rate.

(3B) 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 4 (b) (i) in Part I of the Second Schedule;

‘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 4 (b) (ii) in Part I of the Second Schedule. ”.

(2) Section 51 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution in subsection (2) (inserted by section 14 of the Social Welfare (Amendment) Act, 1981 ) for “The death benefit shall” of “Subject to subsections (3) and (3A), the death benefit shall”.