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S.I. No. 164/1992 -- Social Welfare (Pre-Retirement Allowance) (Amendment) Regulations, 1992.

S.I. No. 164/1992 -- Social Welfare (Pre-Retirement Allowance) (Amendment) Regulations, 1992. 1992 164

S.I. No. 164/1992:

SOCIAL WELFARE (PRE-RETIREMENT ALLOWANCE) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS, 1992.

The Minister for Social Welfare, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 3 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1981 (No. 1 of 1981), by section 156C of that Act (as amended by section 58 of the Social Welfare Act, 1991 (No. 7 of 1991)) and by section 59 of the Social Welfare Act 1991 , and after consultation with An Post, hereby makes the following Regulations:--

Short title and collective citation.

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Social Welfare (Pre-Retirement Allowance) (Amendment) Regulations, 1992.

(2) These Regulations and the Social Welfare (Pre-Retirement Allowance) Regulations, 1990 and 1991, shall be construed together as one and may be cited together as the Social Welfare (Pre-Retirement Allowance) Regulations, 1990 to 1992.

Interpretation.

2. In these Regulations "the Principal Regulations" means the Social Welfare (Pre-Retirement Allowance) Regulations, 1990 ( S.I. No. 76 of 1990 ).

Commencement.

3. These Regulation shall come into operation on the 28th day of May, 1992.

Specified age.

4. The Principal Regulations are hereby amended by the substitution for article 3 (inserted by article 4 of the Social Welfare (Pre-Retirement Allowance) (Amendment) Regulations, 1991 ( S.I. No. 93 of 1991 )) of the following article:

"3. For the purposes of paragraph (a) of section 156A of the Act the specified age shall be 55 years.".

Commencement date of allowance.

5. The Principal Regulations are hereby further amended by the substitution for article 11 of the following article:

"11. An allowance shall be payable on and from the first Thursday next occuring not later than 8 weeks commencing on the date on which the claim for such allowance is made.".

Furnishing of information to social welfare officers by personal representative.

6. The Schedule to the Principal Regulations is hereby amended by the insertion after the reference to section 152 of the Act, as set out and modified in the said Schedule, of the following:

"

Title	Modification
Section 172 of the Act.	172.--(1) Where--
	(a) a person is in receipt of pre-retirement allowance or has made a claim for an allowance which has not been finally determined, and
	(b) (i) the income in cash of the person, or
	(ii) the amount of property belonging to or personally used or enjoyed by the person,
	has increased since the date of the latest investigation thereof or, if no such investigation has taken place, since the date of making the claim, the person shall, before the expiration of the period of three months after the end of the month in which such increase occurred, give, or cause to be given, to the Minister notification of the increase.
	(2) A person who contravenes subsection (1) or, in case he is dead, his personal representative shall, unless it is shown to the satisfaction of the Minister that the person was not aware of the increase to which the contravention related, be liable to pay the Minister on demand--
	(a) if, by reason of the contravention, the person was in receipt of pre-retirement allowance at a time when he was not entitled to receive it, the sums paid to him on foot of the allowance during that time, and
	(b) if, by reason of the contravention, the person was in receipt of an allowance of an amount which was in excess of the amount which he was entitled to receive, such parts of the sums paid to him on foot of the allowance as were in excess of the amounts which he was entitled to receive.
	(3) Any sum payable by a person to the Minister under this section shall be a debt due by the person to the Minister.
	(4) Where a person has contravened subsection (1) and the Minister is satisfied that there was, in relation to the contravention, no fraudulent intent on the part of the person and that there are no significant resources available to that person, sub-sections (2) and (3) shall not apply in relation to the increase referred to in subsection (1).
Section 174 of the Act.	174.--(1) The personal representative of a person who at any time was in receipt of pre-retirement allowance, shall, at the request of a social welfare officer made for the purposes of an inquiry and report in relation to the allowance and within such period (not being less than 30 days) as may be specified in the request--
	(a) furnish to the officer such information, books and documents relating to the affairs of the person which are in the power, possession or procurement of the personal representative as he may reasonably require and permit the officer to take extracts from the books and documents and furnish to him such information as he may reasonably require in relation to such extracts, and
	(b) authorise the officer to inspect any entries relating to the affairs of the person in the books of any bank (including any savings bank) and to take copies of such entries and furnish to the officer such information which is within the power, possession or procurement of the personal representative as he may reasonably require in relation to such entries.
	(2) A person who fails to comply with a request under subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable--
	(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or (at the discretion of the court) to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, or to both such fine and such imprisonment, or
	(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding £10,000 or (at the discretion of the court) to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, or to both such fine and such imprisonment.
	(3) The personal representative of a person who was at any time in receipt of an allowance shall before distributing the assets of the person--
	(a) (i) inform the Minister, by notice, in writing delivered to the Minister, of his intention to distribute the assets, and
	(ii) provide the Minister with a schedule of the assets of the estate,
	not less than three months before the distribution commences, and
	(b) if requested in writing by the Minister within eight weeks of the furnishing of the notice and schedule of assets referred to in paragraph (a), ensure that sufficient assets are retained, to the extent (if any) appropriate, to repay any sum which is determined to be due to the Minister or the State (as the case may be) in respect of--
	(i) payment of the allowance to the person at a time when the person was not entitled to receive the allowance, or
	(ii) payment of the allowance to the person of an amount in excess of the amount which the person was entitled to receive.
	(3A) For the purposes of determining the sum which is due to the Minister or the State under subsection (3), the means of the deceased person for the period in respect of which the allowance was paid to him shall, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, be calculated on the basis that his assets at the time of his death belonged to him for that entire period.
	(3B) The Minister may mitigate amounts determined to be due in accordance with subsection (3A) where it appears equitable to him to do so.
	(4) A personal representative who contravenes subsection (3) and who distributes the assets of the person whose estate he represents without payment of any sum which is due to the Minister in respect of--
	(a) payments of the allowance to the person at a time when the person was not entitled to receive the allowance, or
	(b) payments of the allowance to the person of amounts in excess of the amounts which the person was entitled to receive, shall be personally liable to repay to the Minister an amount equal to the amount (if any) which the Minister would have received if, in the administration of the estate of the person, the sum aforesaid had been duly taken into account and repaid to the Minister to the extent (if any) appropriate, having regard to the assets of the person, and such amount shall be a debt due by the personal representative to the Minister.

".

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Social Welfare this 28th day of May, 1992.

CHARLIE McCREEVEY,

Minister for Social Welfare.

The Minister for Finance hereby consents to the making of the foregoing Regulations.

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Finance this 28 day of May, 1992.

BERTIE AHERN,

Minister for Finance.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Regulations provide for a reduction in the qualifying age for pre-retirement allowance from 58 to 55 years. The new age limit will apply from the 28th of May 1992.

The Regulations also provide that the allowance shall commence not later than 8 weeks after the date of claim for the allowance.

The Regulations oblige recipients to notify the Minister of any increase in means. They also contain certain provisions relating to the recovery of overpayments from the estate of a decreased recipient.