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The Household Budget Scheme assists individuals receiving specific social welfare payments in managing household expenses. Weekly, fixed-amount deductions are made from your social welfare payments to cover bills such as electricity, gas, and rental payment contributions. The scheme is operated by An Post and your payments must be paid through your local post office. You can apply via An Post by completing an application form.
The Household Budget Scheme helps people who receive certain qualifying social welfare payments to manage the costs of their household bills over the year.
The financial scheme allows for a fixed amount of money to be deducted from your social welfare payments that are then allocated towards paying your bills.
The scheme is operated by An Post and your payments must be paid through your local post office.
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To open a Household Budget account with An Post, you must complete the Household Budget Deduction Application form and send the form to the following address:
Household Budget,
An Post, 3A General Post Office,
Freepost,
O'Connell Street Lower,
Dublin 1,
D01 F5P2
You must complete a separate application form for each deduction you want to make.
That is to say, if you want to make a payment towards your housing body AND your electricity company, you will have to send two separate applications.
To qualify for the Household Budget Scheme, you must be in receipt of a qualifying social welfare payments.
Below we have listed the qualifying social payments along with a short description of each payment:
| Payment Name | Category | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| Disability Allowance | Illness/Disability | For people with disabilities. |
| Invalidity Pension | Illness/Disability | Long-term payments for those unable to work. |
| Blind Pension | Illness/Disability | Payments for people who are blind or visually impaired. |
| Carer's Allowance | Carers | Payments for people caring for someone in need. |
| Carer's Benefit | Carers | Payments based on social insurance contributions for carers. |
| Jobseeker’s Benefit | Jobseekers | Short-term payments for those who have lost their job. |
| Jobseeker’s Allowance (and Jobseeker's Transitional payment) | Jobseekers | Payments for those seeking employment and meeting certain criteria. |
| Back to Work Enterprise Allowance | Jobseekers | Payment to assist people to start their own business. |
| Pre-Retirement Allowance | Jobseekers | Payment for people approaching retirement. |
| State Pension (Contributory) | Older Adults | Based on social insurance contributions. |
| State Pension (Non–Contributory) | Older Adults | Means-tested pension. |
| Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner's (Contributory) Pension | Bereavement | Based on social insurance contributions. |
| Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner's (Non–Contributory) Pension | Bereavement | Means-tested pension. |
| One-Parent Family Payment | Families | Payments for single parents. |
| Back to Education Allowance | Education and Training | Payments for people returning to education. |
| Farm Assist | Other Payments | Payments for low income farmers. |
| Supplementary Welfare Allowance (basic payment) | Other Payments | Short term financial support. |
The Household Budget Scheme allows for direct bill payments from your social welfare.
Here's what you can pay:
Your electricity supplier must have an agreement with An Post to make deductions from your social welfare payment.
We recommend contacting An Post to see if your electricity supplier is included in the scheme, as if they are not included, you won’t be able to avail of the scheme.
You can choose to cover the full amount of your bill, however you cannot have more than 25% of total weekly social welfare payments deducted under this scheme.
Depending on which bill you are making a payment towards, there are certain conditions:
In the case of electricity and gas bills, the pre-agreed deduction will be made on your bill within 4 days of your payment at the post office.
In the case that 25% of your social welfare payment is not enough to meet all your deductions in a particular week, the local authority deduction will be made first.
It is possible to make changes to the amount that is deducted from your social welfare payments, however it requires the resubmission of a Household Budget Scheme application form.
If you want to make changes to the deductions being paid to a housing body, you must include a letter from the authority authorising the change in deduction.
You can cancel a deduction and are required to give a 2-week written notice to An Post.
As part of your written notice, you should include the following information:
If you are looking for more information about the scheme, you can contact An Post at the following:
| Contact | Details |
|---|---|
| Phone Number | 1800 70 71 72 |
| Postal Address | Household Budget, An Post, 3A General Post Office, Freepost, O'Connell Street Lower, Dublin 1, D01 F5P2 |
| Website | https://www.anpost.com |
In addition to the Household Budget Scheme, there are several other schemes and grants available to homeowners, in particular those considered vulnerable priority customers, to help with energy costs and or home efficiency upgrades.
Schemes available include:
Each of the above-mentioned schemes have their own eligibility and application processes, and we recommended visiting the respective pages to get the full details.
Home energy bills and the cost of electricity continue to pose a challenge to households across Ireland.
In addition to the forementioned schemes and programmes, there are other ways you can manage your home energy costs:
The services and products mentioned on this website may only represent a small selection of the options available to you. Selectra encourages you to carry out your own research and seek advice if necessary before making any decisions. We may receive commission from selected partner providers on sales of some products and/or services mentioned within this website. Our website is free to use, and the commission we receive does not affect our opinion or the information we provide.
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