National Insurance Act 1965

55 Provisions as to maintenance.

(1) Regulations may provide for determining the circumstances in which a person is or is not to be deemed for the purposes of this Part of this Act to be wholly or mainly maintaining, or to be contributing at any weekly rate to the maintenance of, another person or to be or have been contributing at any weekly rate to the cost of providing for a child.

(2) Regulations under the foregoing subsection may provide, for the purpose of the provisions relating to an increase of benefit in respect of a wife or other adult dependant, that where—

(a) a person is partly maintained by each of two or more beneficiaries, each of whom would be entitled to such an increase in respect of that person if he were wholly or mainly maintaining that person ; and

(b) the contributions made by those two or more beneficiaries towards the maintenance of the person amount in the aggregate to sums which would, if they had been contributed by one of those beneficiaries, be sufficient to satisfy the requirements of regulations made by virtue of subsection (1) of this section,

that person shall be deemed for the purpose of the said provisions to be wholly or mainly maintained by such of those beneficiaries as may be prescribed.

(3) Regulations may provide for any sum or sums paid by a person by way of contribution towards either or both of the following, that is to say, the maintenance of his wife and the cost of providing for one or more children, to be treated for the purposes of section 38(c), 41(3), 42(1)(b) or 43(1)(a)(ii) of this Act as such contributions, of such respective amounts equal in the aggregate to the said sum or sums, in respect of such persons, as may be determined in accordance with the regulations so as to secure as large a payment as possible by way of benefit in respect of dependants.