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Death benefit for bereaved partners and increases for qualified children, etc.
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4. The Principal Act is amended by the substitution of the following section for section 81:
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“81. (1) Subject to subsection (2), death benefit shall be payable to the bereaved partner of a deceased partner.
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(2) Subject to sections 241(2) and 242, a bereaved partner whose claim for death benefit is based on being a surviving qualified cohabitant shall, regardless of the date of death of his or her deceased partner, be entitled to a pension under this section from 22 January 2024 or the date of death of the deceased partner, whichever is the later date.
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(3) Death benefit shall be a pension at the weekly rate set out in column (2) of Part 1 of Schedule 2, and where the beneficiary has attained pensionable age and is living alone, that rate shall be increased by the amount set out in column (6) of that Part.
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(4) A bereaved partner shall be disqualified for receiving a pension under subsection (3) if and so long as he or she is a cohabitant.
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(5) A pension under subsection (3) shall cease as and from—
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(a) the date of marriage or remarriage of the beneficiary,
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(b) the date of entry by the beneficiary into a civil partnership or a new civil partnership, or
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(c) the date on which the beneficiary becomes a qualified cohabitant or again becomes a qualified cohabitant.
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(6) The weekly rate of pension under subsection (3) shall be increased by the amount set out—
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(a) in column (4) of Part 1 of Schedule 2 in respect of each qualified child who has not attained the age of 12 years who normally resides with the beneficiary,
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(b) in column (5) of Part 1 of Schedule 2 in respect of each qualified child who has attained the age of 12 years who normally resides with the beneficiary,
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(c) in column (7) of Part 1 of Schedule 2 where the beneficiary has attained the age of 80 years, and
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(d) in column (8) of Part 1 of Schedule 2 where the beneficiary has attained pensionable age and is ordinarily resident on an island.
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(7) (a) For the purpose of this section, and subject to any regulations under section 123(3), where the death of the deceased partner occurred on or after the date of the passing of the Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner’s Pension and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2025, a person shall not be considered a bereaved partner if the Minister is satisfied in all the circumstances that—
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(i) in the case of a married couple, the spouses had lived apart and were not in an intimate and committed relationship for a period of at least 2 years immediately preceding the date of death of the deceased spouse, or
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(ii) in the case of a civil partnership, the civil partners had lived apart and were not in an intimate and committed relationship for a period of at least 2 years immediately preceding the date of death of the deceased civil partner.
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(b) For the purpose of paragraph (a)—
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(i) spouses who live in the same dwelling as one another shall be considered as living apart from one another if the Minister is satisfied that, while so living in the same dwelling, the spouses do not live together as a couple in an intimate and committed relationship,
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(ii) civil partners who live in the same dwelling as one another shall be considered as living apart from one another if the Minister is satisfied that, while so living in the same dwelling, the spouses do not live together as a couple in an intimate and committed relationship,
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(iii) a relationship does not cease to be an intimate relationship merely because it is no longer sexual in nature.
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(8) In this section, ‘bereaved partner’ and ‘deceased partner’ each have the meaning given to them in section 123.”.
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