Social Security Act (Cap. 318), article 97

97. (1) It shall be a condition of any person’s right to any benefit, pension, allowance, injury grant or assistance granted under the provisions of this Act that - (a) he makes a claim therefor o n the official form of the Department for that benefit, pension, allowance, injury grant or assistance or in such other manner as the Director may otherwise determine in respect of any particular benefit, pension, allowance, injury grant or assistance or with respect t o any particular claim, and that this claim is officiall y received by the Department within the respective time limits laid down in sub- article (2); (b) he produces such certificates, documents, information and evidence for the purpos e of determining his right to such benefit, pension, allowance, injury grant or assistance as the Director may, from time to time, require and for that purpose attends at such office or place as the Direct or may appoint. SOCIAL SECURITY [CAP. 318. 99 (2) The time limits referre d to in sub-article (1)( a) shall be as follows: (a) in the case of Sickness Benefit and Injury Benefit, ten days starting from the first day of incapacity for work, and in the case of an injury grant/injury pension that may be payable as a consequence of the after effects of an injury, within a month of the diagnosis of such after effects; (b) in the case of Unemployment Benefit or Special Unemployment Benefit, So cial Assistance, Medical Assistance, an Age Pension, an Increased Severe Disability Assistance, Severe Disability Assistance, Disability Assistance, an Assistance for the Visually Impaired, a Carer’s Allo wance, Increased Carer’s Allowance, a Pension in respect of Invalidity or a Supplementary Allowance, five days starting from the day in respect of whic h the claim is made; (c) in the case of a Marriage Gr ant, a Maternity Benefit, a Children’s Allowance, a Disabled Child Allowance or a Pension in respect of Retirement or Widowhood, six months starting from - (i) the day on which the child is born, in respect of a Maternity Benefit, a Ch ildren’s Allowance and a Disabled Child Allowance; (ii) the day on which the person concerned reaches his retirement, in the case of a Pension in respect of Retirement; (iii) the day on which the female concerned becomes a widow, in the case of a Pension in respect of Widowhood; and (iv) the day of marriage, in the case of a Marriage Grant: Provided that if no claim is made for any of the aforesaid benefits, pensions, allowances or assistance within the aforesa id time limits, entitlement to such benefits, pensions, allowances and assistance shall only accrue as from the date on which the rele vant claim is accepted by the Director as having been officially rec eived by the Department; sohowever that in the case of a Marriage Gra nt or Maternity Benefit no entitlement to such benefit shall accru e after the lapse of the perio d referred to in paragraph ( c): Provided further that - (i) for the purposes of this sub-article any such claim as aforesaid in this sub-article shall not be accepted as having been officially received by the Department unless and until it bears such official departmental stamp as may be determined by the Director, which stamp shall include the date on which such a claim had been so officially received by the Department; and (ii) where the person making a claim for such 100 CAP. 318.] SOCIAL SECURITY benefit, pension, allowance or assistance as aforesaid proves to th e satisfaction of the Director that any delay in having his claim officially received by the Department was not du e to a ny ne g l i ge n c e on hi s pa r t , th e Di r e c to r may, at his discretion, consider the claim as having been officially received in good time, either - (a) if such a delay does not exceed a period of one hundred and four weeks, or (b) in the case of a Disabled Child Allowance if the delay was due in the time taken to process conclusive medical evidence of such disability, or (c) in the case of a Children’s Allowance, if such allowance was in payment prior to the first Saturday of July, 1996, and the Director is satisfied tha t the beneficiary had not been requested to submit a declaration in accordance with the provisions of Part VII of the Second Schedule to this Act. (3) Where at any time prior to the 23rd February, 1990, any person submitted to the Director a claim for Children’s Allowan ce or Special Allowance under this Act and, for whatever reason su ch allowance remained unpaid or suspended by the date aforesaid in this sub-article, such person may notwithstanding that such per son had failed to appeal to the Umpire appointed under this Act or to take any other action competent to him at law, submit a fresh c laim to the Director for such allowance by not later than 30th April , 1990. The provisions of article 98(4) shall apply to the claim which has given rise to such fresh claim, and if no such fresh claim is so submitted as aforesaid, such all owance shall not be payable und er this Act in relation to any period prior to the 23rd February, 1990: Provided that the foregoing provisions of this sub-article shall not apply in the case of a claim for Children’s Allowance made in respect of a child born on or after the 23rd August, 19 89, or, in the case of a claim for S pecial Allowance, made in respe ct of a person who has reached his sixt eenth birthday on or after the 23rd August, 1989; but in any such cases the provisions of article 9 8(4) shall nonetheless apply: Provided further that, the foregoing provisions of this sub- article shall also apply to clai ms which were or iginally lodged between the 23rd February, 1990 and the 19th April, 1990 in respect of periods prior to the 23rd February, 1990. (4) Unless otherwise stated in the relative provisions of this Act, where a person is in any way disqualified from receiving benefit, pension, allowance or assistance under this Act, he sh all not again become entitled to such benefit, pension, allowance o r assistance under and in accordance with the provisions of this Act unless he makes a fresh claim th erefor in terms of the foregoin g provisions of this article and fo r this purpose, the respective time SOCIAL SECURITY [CAP. 318. 101 limits laid down in sub-article (2) shall, in each and every ca se, take effect as from the date on which such disqualification as aforesaid in this article ceases. Payments. Amended by: XIV . 1988.12; XVI. 1989.18; XVI. 1990.41; XIII. 1991.39; VIII. 1992.36. Re-numbered by: XXIV . 1993.2. Amended by: XXV . 1994.2; XXI. 1996.48; XI. 2000.17; II. 2002.74; XXXII. 2007.65; I. 2012.11; XV . 2016.60.