Carlow households could be eligible for little-known social welfare boost of over €400

Carlow households could be eligible for a little-known payment that could see them earning over €400 per year whilst also saving €160 per year.

The Household Benefits Package (HBP) helps with the cost of your electricity or gas bills. It also includes your free television licence.

You do not have to be living alone to get the Household Benefits Package. However, only one person in a household can get the package.

You can get the Household Benefits Package if you are aged 70 or over. You do not need to be getting a State pension and the package is not means tested.

People under 70 can also get the HBP, but additional rules apply.

READ NEXT: ‘Not a nice thing to do’ - Council officials compared to Nazis on posters in Carlow Town

What is covered by the Household Benefits Package?

There are 2 allowances in the Household Benefits Package:

Allowance 1

Electricity Allowance (€1.15 per day) or Gas Allowance (€1.15 per day).

Allowance 2

Free television licence.

Electricity or Gas Allowance

If you have an electricity and gas supply, you must choose between the Electricity Allowance and Gas Allowance. You can choose only one.

The Allowance does not cover the cost of installing an electricity or natural gas supply to your home.

How is the Allowance paid?

The Allowance is paid into your nominated bank account or post office. The Allowance is paid on the first Tuesday of each month. If you are collecting your Allowance from the post office using your Public Services Card, you have 90 days to collect your payment.

From 8 September 2025, all new applicants for the Household Benefits Package will get paid the Allowance to their nominated bank account or post office.

If you are an existing Household Benefits Package customer and you are already getting a monthly credit towards your electricity or gas bill, you will continue to get the credit unless you change your supplier. If you change your energy supplier, you must tell the Department of Social Protection (DSP).

READ NEXT: Locations of six CCTV cameras in Carlow revealed to stop litter and dumping incidents

Free Television Licence

Once you qualify for the Household Benefits Package, you can get a free television licence from your next television licence renewal date. To get your free television licence, you must select the free television licence option on the HBP form when you apply.

You will get a free television licence for as long as you get the Household Benefits Package. 

How to qualify for the Household Benefits Package

To get the Household Benefits Package, you must:

• Be living in Ireland (full-time, all year round)
• Be the only person in your household getting the HBP
• Be aged 70 or over
• Be aged under 70 and meet the additional rules for ‘People aged under 70’ set out below.

If you are under 70 and living with your spouse, cohabitant or civil partner, you can get the HBP if you are getting a qualifying social welfare payment and:

• You are getting an increase in your qualifying social welfare payment for them (see list of qualifying social welfare payments below), or
• They are getting their own qualifying social welfare payment listed below, or
• They are getting a social welfare payment not listed below and they satisfy a means test
• You can live with other adults (who are not your spouse, cohabitant or civil partner) and get the HBP.

Qualifying social welfare payments for people under 70

You are between 66 and 70:

• State Pension (Contributory)
• State Pension (Non-Contributory)
• Bereaved Partner's (Contributory) Pension
• Deserted Wife's Benefit
• Carer's Allowance (full or half-rate payment), but you must be living with the person you are caring for.
• An ordinary Garda Widow's Pension from the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration
• An equivalent Social Security Pension or Benefit from a country covered by EU Regulations or from a country with which Ireland has a Bilateral Social Security Agreement
• If you are aged between 66 and 70 and not getting one of the payments above, you may qualify for the Household Benefits Package if you pass a means test - see ‘The means test' below.

Qualifying social welfare payments if you are under 66:

• Disability Allowance
• Invalidity Pension
• Blind Pension
• Incapacity Supplement (for at least 12 months) with Disablement Pension (for at least 12 months)
• Carer's Allowance (full or half-rate payment), but you must be living with the person you are caring for.
• An equivalent Social Security Pension or Benefit from a country covered by EU Regulations, or from a country with which Ireland has a Bilateral Social Security Agreement

Bereaved partners

You can qualify for the Household Benefits Package, if you are aged between 60 and 65 and your late partner was getting the Household Benefits Package before their death. To qualify you must have lived together when the Household Benefits Package was first awarded.

Means test

If you are aged between 66 and 70 and are not getting a qualifying social welfare payment, you must pass a means test. In a means test, the DSP examines all your sources of income. Your weekly income must be below a certain amount to pass the means test.

The amount of means that you are allowed to have for the HBP is the current maximum rate of State Pension (Contributory) including any increases that you might get for your age, living alone and dependants, plus €200.