Would you take the plunge? Advice needed

Oldernotwiser

neilcr wrote: »

Give me a break mate :beer: I have just worked 37 years long hours and don't you think I would have some good contacts. Good health is worth more than any job as some of my friends have found out in recent years.

I will take my break and go back to work soon enough;)

Don't take this for granted! Many people think they'll take a month off and find that's stretched to a year and all their savings are gone.

bunny999

neilcr wrote: »

Give me a break mate :beer: I have just worked 37 years long hours and don't you think I would have some good contacts. Good health is worth more than any job as some of my friends have found out in recent years.

I will take my break and go back to work soon enough;)

Pigs might fly.

bunny999

1984ReturnsForReal wrote: »

If you have more than £16,000 in saving -ditto. JSA (contributory) is only paid for 6 months.
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He/she wont have any savings if they use the £25k to pay off a majority of the personal debt.

If they use the money to pay off debts it will count as deprivation of capital and they will for benefit purposes be treated as if they still have the money.

LindsayO

I was faced with the same question, I was offered vulontary redundancy, with a figure just a little under £25k. I didn't take it. I would have put it into my mortgage and so reduced what I owe on that. But then what? I'm close to 50, and in ill health, not a very good "catch" even with my good employment history, so if I loose this job I don't think I'll get another one. My employers have yet to decide if they will bring in compulsory redundancies, but the terms will be they same as voluntary, so I figure I have nothing to loose by staying on and hoping I survive the cut.
In the mean time I am looking at ways to pay off as much of my mortgage as I can, and retraining to be as flexible as possible should I need to look for another job

So if I were you I would not take the voluntary redundancy

eamon

This is an area where the advice from government is unclear to say the least. I know that there are similar discussions from families etc who have to access long term/permanent social care. IMHO this is an issue that should really get bigger importance in the current economic climate.

Fire_Fox

I think the 'right' answer depends upon whether you would be happy to take any other job, prefer to wait for the right opportunity etc. There are plenty of jobs or those that want to work (cleaning/ bar work/ stacking shelves), but if you want a certain salary or a specific type of role, you might have to wait a while.

1984ReturnsForReal_2

bunny999 wrote: »

If they use the money to pay off debts it will count as deprivation of capital and they will for benefit purposes be treated as if they still have the money.

Can you get me some HMRC info on that please. I cant find any.

I agree, if you pay a sum off your mortgage i agree with the idea BUT to pay an unsecured loan or a credit cards???!! I cant see that myself..

neilcr_2

bunny999 wrote: »

Pigs might fly.

Thank's for that even though you don't know anything about me

the182guy

Your choice depends on a lot of things...

What kind of work do you do? Is it something specialist or something that is always needed regardless of recession?

So the first thing to think about is how likely are you going to be able to get into a new job?

Another thing to consider, if you stay, how good does your employer look in terms of staying open in the future? You might find that if you stay and things get worse you could be made redundant anyway.

Example: someone I know is being considered for redundency now, a few years ago the company asked for voluntary redundancy with a payout of £50,000. Now the redundancy could happen with a payout of about £2,000.

Also, if you use the £25k to pay off debts, what are you going to live on until you find a new job? What are you going to pay the mortgage with? Unless you have a lump of savings?

Oldernotwiser

1984ReturnsForReal wrote: »

Can you get me some HMRC info on that please. I cant find any.

I agree, if you pay a sum off your mortgage i agree with the idea BUT to pay an unsecured loan or a credit cards???!! I cant see that myself..

If you search this site under "deprivation of capital" you'll find lots of threads about it. It even applies if you've borrowed money on 0%credit cards to put into savings! The savings count as capital and the debts aren't allowed for. If you put the money back onto the cards you'll be assessed as if you still have it.

It's also nothing to do with HMRC - why should it be?