Illness Benefit

Illness Benefit is a scheme to support you if you cannot work in the short term if you are ill. Your illness must be certified by a doctor.

Illness Benefit is not linked to your employer’s policy on pay for sick leave.

How often it is paid

Illness Benefit is paid weekly. It can be paid Monday to Saturday depending on when the claim is registered and the first day of your illness.

When to claim

You should claim Illness Benefit within 6 weeks of becoming ill. This applies whether your employer pays you or not while you are out sick from work. You also should be certified by a doctor from your first day of illness. If your instance of illness does not exceed your 5-day Statutory Sick Leave entitlement, you do not need to apply for Illness Benefit.

Short term support

If your income does not meet your needs while you are waiting to hear about your Illness Benefit claim, you may be able to get basic Supplementary Welfare Allowance.

This is a weekly payment for people who do not have enough income to meet their basic needs and the needs of their partner or children.

Illness Benefit and the Sick Leave Act 2022

The Sick Leave Act 2022 provides for a Statutory Sick Leave scheme for all employees who have been with their current employer for at least 13 weeks.

Since 1 January 2024 the number of Statutory Sick Leave days is 5. This means you will be paid by your employer under the Statutory Sick Leave scheme for any instance of illness, up to a maximum of 5 days, that you are ordinarily scheduled to work in a calendar year. If your first instance of illness in the year is less than 5 days, your remaining statutory sick leave days will be applied to any subsequent instance(s) of illness, up to a maximum of 5 days in a calendar year.

You can read more about Illness Benefit and Statutory Sick Leave in 2024 here.

To qualify for Illness Benefit, you must meet conditions related to:

• Age
• Social Insurance (PRSI) contributions

Age

You must be under pensionable age. This is currently 66.

Illness Benefit and Flexible State Pension

Since 1 January 2024 the State pension (Contributory) is more flexible.

If you were born on or after 1 January 1958, you will be able to drawdown your pension at any age between 66 and 70.

If you choose to draw down your pension at a later date than age 66, it will give you the opportunity to continue to work to make PRSI contributions. This may increase your personal rate of payment or help you to meet the qualifying contribution conditions for State Pension (Contributory).

If you decide not to draw down your State Pension (Contributory) at age 66 and meet the conditions of the Illness Benefit scheme, you may receive/apply for Illness Benefit up until the age of 70. You will not receive credited contributions while on Illness Benefit after the age of 66. This may have an impact on your State Pension (Contributory) entitlements. After the age of 66, you must apply for Illness Benefit using a paper application (IB1) which can be obtained from your GP or by calling 0818 928 400 or 01 7043300

If you are already in in receipt of Illness Benefit, born after 1 January 1958 and are approaching the age of 66, you will receive a letter from the Department of Social Protection advising you of your options.

Social insurance (PRSI) contributions

You must have at least 104 class A, E, H or P social insurance (PRSI) contributions paid since first starting work. Only PRSI contributions paid at these classes are reckonable for Illness Benefit.

You must also meet either Condition 1 or Condition 2 below:

Condition 1

You must have 39 weeks of PRSI contributions paid or credited in the relevant tax year, of which 13 must be paid contributions.

If you do not have 13 paid contributions in the relevant tax year, then 13 paid contributions in one of the following tax years can be used instead:

• either of the two tax years before the relevant tax year
• the last complete tax year (before the year in which your claim for Illness Benefit begins)
• the current tax year

OR

Condition 2

You must have 26 weeks of PRSI contributions paid in the relevant tax year, and 26 weeks of PRSI contributions paid in the tax year immediately before the relevant tax year.

The relevant tax year is the second-last complete tax year before the year in which your claim for Illness Benefit begins.

Example 1: If you make a claim in 2024, the relevant tax year is 2022.

Example 2: If you make a claim in 2025, the relevant tax year is 2023.

Other requirements

You must also:

• attend your doctor. Your doctor can electronically submit a Certificate of Incapacity for Work directly to the Department of Social Protection
• apply for Illness Benefit. Submit an online Illness Benefit application through MyWelfare or post an IB1 Form (application form for Illness Benefit and Injury Benefit) to the department. You can get the from your doctor
• enter the date you first became ill on your application
• not be getting holiday pay from your employer

Illness Benefit rates are paid at four different rates. The department works out which rate you are paid based on your average weekly earnings in the relevant tax year.

The rates are:

If you have dependent adult or children and are receiving Illness Benefit you may be entitled to an increase in your payment.

The department works out your average weekly earnings by dividing your total earnings (before tax and some other deductions) in the relevant tax year by the number of weeks you have worked.

Example of average weekly earnings

Illness Benefit and tax

Illness Benefit is a taxable payment.

The department pays Illness Benefit without deducting tax.

The department notify Revenue of the amount of Illness Benefit paid to you. This means Revenue will deduct the correct tax if you need to pay. You do not have to do anything for the correct tax to be paid.

Please note:

• tax is not charged on increases paid for any dependent children
• social insurance (PRSI) and Universal Social Charge (USC) are not charged on Illness Benefit payments

Longer term benefits

If you have been receiving Illness Benefit for more than 6 months you can apply for Partial Capacity Benefit, Disability Allowance or Invalidity Pension.

First three days of illness

You will not get Illness Benefit for the first 3 days you are off sick from work. These are called waiting days. Sunday is not counted as a waiting day.

Methods of payment

You can decide to have your Illness Benefit paid into your:

• bank
• building society
• credit union
• post office account

It can also be paid:

• directly to your employer

Illness Benefit may be paid directly to your employer. To do this, you will need your employer’s payment details to fill in the application.

You must get a doctor to examine you.

You may have to pay for this exam, but the Certificate of Incapacity for Work is free.

Your doctor can complete your Certificate of Incapacity for Work electronically. If your certificate has not been completed electronically you must submit a paper copy to accompany your illness benefit application.

You can apply for Illness Benefit online through MyWelfare. If you are unable to apply online you may ask your doctor for an IB1 application form.

Apply online

If you have a verified or basic MyGovID account you can apply online on MyWelfare.ie.

If you cannot apply online

If you cannot apply online, you can request an IB1 claim form from your GP. Alternatively, you can request an IB1 claim form by calling the Illness Benefit contact number +353 1 704 3300 or 0818 928 400 or emailing illnessbenefit@welfare.ie and providing your full name and address.

Please include “Application Request” in the subject line of the email.

All completed certificates and forms should be sent to:

You have to notify the department when you are fit to return to work. If you have a verified MyGovID account you can close your claim through MyWelfare by using the Manage my Claim option on your claim card.

If you do not have a verified MyGovID account, you can contact the department by email or phone using the details below.

Your doctor needs to mark your last Certificate of Incapacity for Work as final before you go back to work. If you cannot get the certificate marked, you should still notify the department.

Close your claim early

If you need to close your claim earlier than the date on your Certificate of Incapacity for Work and have a verified MyGovID account, you can close your claim through MyWelfare by using the Manage my Claim option on your claim card.

If you do not have a verified MyGovID account, you can contact the department by email or phone using the details below.

Operational guidelines describe the processes and procedures that staff in the department follow when carrying out their work.

• Operational Guidelines: Illness Benefit
• Operational Guidelines: Payment-related issues

Get guidance on how to complete your Illness Benefit application online with MyWelfare.

With a verified MyGovID account

With an unverified MyGovID account