How much can you earn if you are on disability

Social assistance (means-tested) payments: Disability Allowance and Blind Pension are means-tested disability payments. If you start work, you must notify the DSP and provide proof of your earnings (a pay slip, your contract of employment or a letter from your employer). You do not need to have been getting your payment for a minimum period of time before you can take up work. You may keep your Disability Allowance or Blind Pension if your income is below a certain level.

If you leave your new job, you should contact the DSP and your Disability Allowance will be quickly re-instated at the appropriate rate.

Income from work

To qualify for a means-tested payment your income from various sources is examined to see whether it is under a certain level. Some earnings from work are not taken into account in the assessment of your means and do not affect your payment. For Disability Allowance and Blind Pension, earnings of up to €140 from work (either as an employee or as a self-employed person) are not taken into account at all in the assessment of means. (The means assessed are your gross earnings less PRSI, any pension contributions and any union dues. You cannot deduct income tax or income levies.)

If you earn more than €140 per week from work, half of your earnings between €140 and €375 are not taken into account in the Disability Allowance and Blind Pension means test.

Disability Allowance: all earnings from work over €375 are assessed as income and your entitlement to Disability Allowance will be reduced in line with the appropriate reduced rates of payment for Disability Allowance. If you are getting payments for a qualified adult or qualified children your means from work are deducted from the family rate that applies to you.

Blind Pension: all earnings from work over €375 are assessed as income and your entitlement to Blind Pension will be reduced in line with the appropriate reduced rates of payment for Blind Pension.

There is no restriction on the number of hours you can work.

Social insurance payments: Invalidity Pension and Illness Benefit are social insurance (PRSI-based) payments. You cannot work while you are getting these payments (with the exception of voluntary unpaid work).

If you have been getting Invalidity Pension or Illness Benefit (for at least 6 months) you can apply for Partial Capacity Benefit, if you have a reduced capacity to work. The work does not have to be rehabilitative. You may have to pay income tax on your total income. Exemptions for rehabilitative work are no longer available.

Occupational Injuries Benefit Scheme and rehabilitative work

Injury Benefit is one of the benefits available under the Occupational Injuries Scheme. If you are getting Injury Benefit you can do light voluntary work. You can also do part-time work which is part of a treatment or charitable in character (provided you do not earn more than €50 a week) without permission. However, if you wish to do other rehabilitative work or a training course you must get written permission from the DSP (called an exemption) before starting. Exemptions allowing a person to work are not normally granted within the first 26 weeks of Injury Benefit.

Incapacity Supplement is paid to people who are getting Disablement Pension and who do not qualify for any other disability payments. You can work provided you do not earn more than €33 a week on average. However, if you wish to do other rehabilitative work or a training course you must get written permission from the DSP before starting. Initial requests for an exemption to do training courses are automatically granted but subsequent requests are referred to a DSP medical advisor. If you wish to take part in a Community Employment Scheme, you cannot retain your Incapacity Supplement but you can retain your Disablement Benefit.

People getting Disablement Pension (without another payment) can work (full- or part-time) and do not need permission from the Department.

Employment schemes and other payments

People getting Disability Allowance can qualify for the Rural Social Scheme (if they are actively farming or fishing).

People getting Illness Benefit, Invalidity Pension, Disability Allowance, and Blind Pension can qualify for Community Employment.

People getting disability payments are not eligible for the TÚS schemes.

People getting Disability Allowance and Blind Pension can qualify for Working Family Payment (WFP) if they meet the criteria. People getting Invalidity Pension and Illness Benefit cannot work and therefore cannot qualify for WFP. People getting Partial Capacity Benefit do not qualify for WFP.

Extra benefits

If you work while getting Disability Allowance or Blind Pension you can retain any extra benefits you were getting. However, the amount of Rent Supplement you get may be affected by your increased income.

In general, you can retain any extra benefits you were getting when you take part in an employment scheme.

You can read about Rent Supplement and how additional income from work or taking part in an employment scheme may affect it in our document on Rent Supplement and changes to your circumstances.

Keeping entitlement to Free Travel

Since 6 April 2017, under the Make Work Pay initiative, if you move from a long-term disability payment (see list below) to a job, you can keep your entitlement to Free Travel for a period of 5 years, provided you have registered for a Public Services Card.

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