Surely I must be entitled to more than this..?

Silly_Cow

Hello all. Can I pick your brains please?

I've just been on the entitledto website and it seems I'm only entitled to £50.54 pw CTC. Can this be right?

Here's the bones of my situation.

• I was working & receiving WTC & CTC. I was made redundant with my last day being 30th Sept 08. (No redundancy pay out as I wasn't there long enough.)

• In my household, it's just me & my 10 year old son.

• Ex decided to stop paying monthly maintenance as from & including Sept 08.

• I have £7500 savings but it's in Icesave, so untouchable for now.

• I have an investment ISA for the kids' futures (I also have an 18 year old) but it still counts as savings in my name. A year ago it was worth £13k, today it's worth £10k.

I am actively seeking work (I have an interview tomorrow) but what happens if I don't actually get a new job before my last month's pay runs out? I have rung the tax credit people yesterday and apparently I'll get one final month's WTC as a giro but then it stops (obviously, as I'm not working).

Surely I must be entitled to JSA....mustn't I???:huh:

lil_me

You should probably apply for contributions based JSA first, see if you've made enough contributions. The CTC is just for your son.

Silly_Cow

Thanks lil_me. That makes me feel a bit less panicky now.

suelees1

As your youngest is under 12 you can claim Income Support without having to sign on. You should also claim housing benefit (if you rent) and council tax benefit. However means tested benefits (IS, HB,CTB) will be affected by accessible savings over £6k and under £16K (including ISAs).

You can sign on as available for and actively seeking work and if you're entitled to contribution based JSA this will not be affected by your capital.

real1314

suelees1 wrote: »

As your youngest is under 12 you can claim Income Support without having to sign on. You should also claim housing benefit (if you rent) and council tax benefit. However means tested benefits (IS, HB,CTB) will be affected by accessible savings over £6k and under £16K (including ISAs).

You can sign on as available for and actively seeking work and if you're entitled to contribution based JSA this will not be affected by your capital.

£17.5k in savings will affect any claim to IS, HB or CTB meaning nothing could be paid, however if the icesave money is determined to be inaccesible, then it might be disregarded.

bestpud

You're very lucky your ex has decided to stop paying maintenance at the same time you lost your job, as it could have been counted as income for any benefits you claim...

lil_me

I suggested the contribution based because of the savings. If they disregard your savings with them being in Icesave then if you claimed IS they would chase the ex up for you, which could be great for when you return to work as the CSA will probably have a payment plan in place for him by then. I do wonder however if someone claimed benefits and was entitled due to savings being tied in Icesave, when the claims come through to get the money back will they have to repay it?

Silly_Cow

bestpud wrote: »

You're very lucky your ex has decided to stop paying maintenance at the same time you lost your job, as it could have been counted as income for any benefits you claim...

It's only because he's stopped paying maintenance that it even occurred to me that I might be entitled to benefits. I'd much rather be living off maintenance & my savings till I do get a new job (as was my intention) than a bare minimum in benefits.

I don't feel "very lucky" at all.

Silly_Cow

lil_me wrote: »

I suggested the contribution based because of the savings. If they disregard your savings with them being in Icesave then if you claimed IS they would chase the ex up for you, which could be great for when you return to work as the CSA will probably have a payment plan in place for him by then.

I have made a claim via the CSA last week. The maintenance order in place is via County Court and officially only covers me but, in practice, covers both my son & me, therefore it seemed inappropriate involving the CSA before. I've also begun the process to register the original order with the Magistrates Court this week.

lil_me wrote: »

I do wonder however if someone claimed benefits and was entitled due to savings being tied in Icesave, when the claims come through to get the money back will they have to repay it?

This is something I wondered too. It certainly wouldn't bother me if it was the case.