Managing your household budget

Do you struggle to manage your day-to-day finances? If you’re a qualifying social welfare recipient, our free Household Budget service can help.

If you receive certain social welfare payments, you can put a regular amount towards your household bills using Household Budget. The money is deducted directly from your payment. We operate the scheme on behalf of the Department of Social Protection.

How much is deducted?

  • The total going towards bills must not be more than 25% of your flat weekly social welfare payment

  • For rent, the amount will be the same as your weekly rent, as long as the total, including other bills, does not go over 25% of your weekly social welfare payment

  • €5 is the minimum weekly payment for any energy or phone bill

  • If your level of social welfare payment is not enough to meet all your deductions in a particular week, we will make deductions up to a maximum of 25% of the weekly flat rate payment, based on local authority payments receiving priority

You can also add new payments, change existing deductions or cancel deductions.

Who can qualify?

To qualify, you must be receiving one of the following payments through An Post:

  • Back to Education Allowance

  • Back to Work Allowance

  • Back to Work Enterprise Allowance

  • Blind Pension

  • Carer's Allowance

  • Carer's Benefit

  • Disability Allowance

  • Farm Assist

  • Invalidity Pension

  • Jobseeker’s Allowance

  • Jobseeker’s Benefit

  • One-Parent Family Payment

  • Pre-Retirement Allowance

  • State Pension, Contributory

  • State Pension, Non–Contributory

  • Supplementary Welfare Allowance (basic payment)

  • Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner's Contributory Pension

  • Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner's Non–Contributory Pension

Which bills can you pay?

  • Local authority or housing body payments

  • Electric Ireland

  • Bord Gáis Energy

  • Eircom

  • SSE Airtricity

How to open an account

Contact our customer helpline at 1800 70 71 72 or complete the Household Budget Deduction Instruction Form (PDF, 485KB) for each bill you want to contribute to. Send the form back to:

Household Budget, An Post, 3A General Post Office, Freepost, O'Connell Street Lower, Dublin 1, D01 F5P2

Making changes

You can add new payments, change existing deductions or cancel deductions as long as your total deductions stay within the 25% limit.

How to add new bill payments

  • Complete a new Deduction Instruction Form (PDF, 485KB) and Freepost it back to us

  • The new payment must not bring your total deductions above the 25% limit

How to change your deductions

Complete a new Deduction Instruction Form (PDF, 485KB) and Freepost it back to us
Submit a letter of authorisation from your local authority or housing body in respect of any rent payments along with a new deduction form

How to cancel all deductions

  • All requests for cancellation of rent deductions must include a letter of authorisation from your local authority or housing body

  • You can cancel any utility bill deductions by making a written request

  • You must give two weeks notice to cancel a deduction

To cancel deductions, please write to us at the address above, including:

  • Your name, address and PPS number

  • The deductions you want to cancel, including account numbers



     

An Post is authorised by the Minister for Finance to provide payment services and is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland in the provision of such services.