13-07-2025
- General
- Irish Daily Mirror
Full list of people who can qualify for €404 payment towards bills
There are certain people who can qualify for a payment worth over €400 towards their bills.
The Household Benefits Package helps with the cost of your electricity or gas bill and the TV licence. You do not have to be living alone to qualify. 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.
How to qualify for the Household Benefits Package?
To receive the HBP, you must:
You do not need the bill to be in your name if you are applying to get the Electricity or Gas Allowance paid in cash to your bank or post office account, or if the bill is in your landlord's name.
If you are under 70, you can get the Household Benefits Package if you are getting a qualifying social welfare payment. 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:
Qualifying social welfare payments for people under 70
If you are between 66 and 70:
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.
Qualifying social welfare payments if you are under 66:
Widowed people or surviving civil partners
You can qualify for the Household Benefits Package, if you are widowed or a surviving civil partner aged between 60 and 65 and your late spouse or civil partner was getting the Household Benefit Package before their death.
To qualify, you must have lived together when the Household Benefit Package was first awarded and you must be getting one of the following payments:
If you were under 60 when your spouse or civil partner died, you can get the Household Benefits Package when you turn 60 if you meet these conditions.
What is covered by the Household Benefits Package?
There are 2 allowances in the Household Benefits Package:
Allowance 1
Allowance 2
If you have an electricity and natural 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.
Free Television Licence
Once you qualify for the Household Benefits Package, you can get a Free Television (TV) Licence from your next TV Licence renewal date. To get your Free TV Licence, you must select the Television Licence option on the HBP form when you apply.
