Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992

Severe disablement allowance

68 Entitlement and rate

(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, a person shall be entitled to a severe disablement allowance for any day (“the relevant day”) if he satisfies—

(a) the conditions specified in subsection (2) below; or

(b) the conditions specified in subsection (3) below.

(2) The conditions mentioned in subsection (1)(a) above are that—

(a) on the relevant day he is incapable of work; and

(b) he has been incapable of work for a period of not less than 196 consecutive days—

(i) beginning not later than the day on which he attained the age of 20; and

(ii) ending immediately before the relevant day.

(3) The conditions mentioned in subsection (1)(b) above are that—

(a) on the relevant day he is both incapable of work and disabled; and

(b) he has been both incapable of work and disabled for a period of not less than 196 consecutive days ending immediately before the relevant day.

(4) A person shall not be entitled to a severe disablement allowance if—

(a) he is under the age of 16;

(b) he is receiving full-time education;

(c) he does not satisfy the prescribed conditions—

(i) as to residence in Northern Ireland; or

(ii) as to presence there; or

(d) he has attained pensionable age and—

(i) was not entitled to a severe disablement allowance immediately before he attained that age; and

(ii) is not treated by regulations as having been so entitled immediately before he attained that age.

(5) A person shall not be entitled to a severe disablement allowance for any day which as between him and his employer falls within a period of entitlement for the purposes of statutory sick pay.

(6) A person is disabled for the purposes of this section if he suffers from loss of physical or mental faculty such that the extent of the resulting disablement assessed in accordance with Schedule 6 to this Act amounts to not less than 80 per cent.

(7) A severe disablement allowance shall be paid at the weekly rate specified in Schedule 4, Part III, paragraph 2.

(8) The amount of severe disablement allowance payable for any relevant day shall be one sixth of the weekly rate referred to in subsection (7) above.

(9) In any case where—

(a) a severe disablement allowance is payable to a woman in respect of one or more relevant days in a week; and

(b) an amount of statutory maternity pay becomes payable to her on any day in that week,

the amount of the severe disablement allowance (including any increase for a child or adult dependant under section 90(a) below) so payable shall be reduced by the amount of the statutory maternity pay, and only the balance (if any) shall be payable.

(10) Where—

(a) a person who is engaged and normally engaged in remunerative work ceases to be so engaged; and

(b) he is entitled to a disability working allowance for the week in which there falls the last day on which he is so engaged; and

(c) he qualified for a disability working allowance for that week by virtue of a severe disablement allowance having been payable to him; and

(d) the first day after he ceases to be engaged as mentioned in paragraph (a) above is a day on which he is incapable of work and falls not later than the end of the period of two years beginning with the last day for which he was entitled to a severe disablement allowance,

any day since that day which fell within a week for which he was entitled to a disability working allowance shall be treated for the purposes of any claim for a severe disablement allowance for a period commencing after he ceases to be engaged as mentioned in paragraph (a) above as having been a day on which he was both incapable of work and disabled.

(11) Regulations—

(a) may direct that persons who—

(i) have attained retiring age; and

(ii) were entitled to a severe disablement allowance immediately before they attained that age,

shall continue to be so entitled notwithstanding that they do not satisfy the conditions specified in subsection (2) or (3) above;

(b) may direct—

(i) that persons who have previously been entitled to a severe disablement allowance shall be entitled to such an allowance notwithstanding that they do not satisfy the conditions specified in subsection (2)(b) or (3)(b) above;

(ii) that subsections (2)(b) and (3)(b) above shall have effect in relation to such persons subject to such modifications as may be specified in the regulations;

(c) may prescribe the circumstances in which a person is or is not to be treated—

(i) as incapable of work; or

(ii) as receiving full-time education;

(d) may provide that, where the net amount of councillor’s allowance (within the meaning of section 58 above) to which a person is entitled in respect of any week exceeds a prescribed sum, then, except in prescribed cases, an amount equal to the excess shall be deducted from the amount of any severe disablement allowance to which he is entitled in respect of that week, and only the balance remaining (if any) shall be payable; and

(e) may provide for disqualifying a person from receiving a severe disablement allowance for such period not exceeding 6 weeks as may be determined in accordance with the Administration Act if—

(i) he has become incapable of work through his own misconduct; or

(ii) he fails without good cause to attend for, or to submit himself to, such medical or other examination or treatment as may be required in accordance with the regulations, or to observe any prescribed rules of behaviour.

(12) In determining whether a person satisfies the conditions specified in subsections (2)(b) and (3)(b) above he shall be treated as having been incapable of work on any day which falls in the pre-commencement period and which—

(a) would have been treated as a day on which he was so incapable, were there disregarded any work which he undertook (or was capable of undertaking) as a councillor, but

(b) would not have been so treated apart from this subsection.

(13) In this section—

• “councillor” and “pre-commencement period” have the meanings assigned to them by section 58(4) above;

• “retiring age” means 70 in the case of a man and 65 in the case of a woman,

and section 58(5) above has effect for the purposes of subsection (12) above as it has effect for the purposes of section 58 above.

69 Severe disablement allowance: age related addition

(1) If a person was under the age of 60 on the day on which he qualified for severe disablement allowance, the weekly rate of his severe disablement allowance shall be increased by an age related addition at whichever of the weekly rates specified in the second column of paragraph 3 of Part III of Schedule 4 to this Act is applicable in his case, that is to say—

(a) the higher rate, if he was under the age of 40 on the day on which he qualified for severe disablement allowance;

(b) the middle rate, if he was between the ages of 40 and 50 on that day; or

(c) the lower rate, if he was between the ages of 50 and 60 on that day.

(2) Subject to subsection (4) below, for the purposes of this section the day on which a person qualified for severe disablement allowance is his first day of incapacity for work in the period of not less than 196 consecutive days mentioned in section 68(2)(b) or (3)(b) above, as the case may be, which preceded the first day in his current period of entitlement.

(3) For the purposes of this section, a person’s “current period of entitlement” is a current period—

(a) which consists of one or more consecutive days on which he is or has been entitled to a severe disablement allowance; and

(b) which begins immediately after the last period of one or more consecutive days for which he was not entitled to such an allowance.

(4) Regulations—

(a) may prescribe cases where a person is to be treated for the purposes of this section as having qualified for severe disablement allowance on a prescribed day earlier than the day ascertained in accordance with subsection (2) above;

(b) may provide for days which are not days of incapacity for work in relation to a person to be treated as days of incapacity for work for the purpose of determining under this section the day on which he qualified for severe disablement allowance; and

(c) may make provision for disregarding prescribed days in computing any period of consecutive days for the purposes of subsection (3) above.