The recession, benefits, the safety net, and the learning curve

Generali

fc123 wrote: »

Max are you going to bump the original thread and give it a final post?

It's ok, I'll bump it.

Over to Max Headroom......

Max_Headroom_3

The eagle, as the saying has it, has landed. :cool:

Max_Headroom_3

Apologies for resurrecting a hoary old post (and for not being around much, this work malarkey seems to be taking up a lot of time!), but there is a rather interesting footnote to all this.

If you recall, the original post was about the shock of finding out just how little I was entitled to in benefits upon losing my job, and how it would be a real eye opener for a lot of people.

Well now I'm back in work I've been hit with another eye opener from the good old Department of Work and Pensions.

You see, over my nearly six month period of unemployment I was able to claim the princely sum of precisely £1,240-08. A rather exact figure, but there’s a good reason why I know this. It’s because now I’m back to my rightful place on the treadmill the DWP have written to me, it seems they’d like some of it back please. And to that end they’ve informed me that the entire amount is now liable for income tax and will be added to my earnings for the purposes of claiming it back from me!!

A rough calculation suggests that £385 will be clawed back. Over a quarter of it! Absolutely staggering!!!

And bear this in mind, I’m earning much less than I was. Had I secured a job at my previous pay-scale I could have been taxed on some or all of it at 40%!

Remarkable.

Geeves1980

I'd be inclined to go down to my local office and give them back the money with 1p coins dumped on their desk...and not in money bags.

harryhound

Now that the government spends about half our money on our behalf, it becomes sensible to know how it all works.
Perhaps Max you can retrain for an evening job as "a benefits adviser".

They will be offering NVQ's in "working the system" - probably more profitable than actually doing something useful.

Max_Headroom_3

I like your thinking, but I don't know much about benefits.

I just instinctively recognise when the government are ripping me off.

Again! :mad:

vivatifosi

Welcome back Max! Good to see you hereabouts once more.

PasturesNew

The secret is to never start a new job until 5th April, then it's a new tax year, so they won't take a cut of your benefits because they were paid in the old tax year.

Max_Headroom_3

vivatifosi wrote: »

Welcome back Max! Good to see you hereabouts once more.

Thanks Viv. Life seems to have changed a lot in the last six months. In a good way, but in a very time consuming way. Sadly I just don't get to the forums like I did.

Max_Headroom_3

PasturesNew wrote: »

The secret is to never start a new job until 5th April, then it's a new tax year, so they won't take a cut of your benefits because they were paid in the old tax year.

Ah, now I wondered about that.

So basically someone long term unemployed is only liable back to the beginning of the tax year?

So the shorter term unemployed get penalised, those on benefits year after year avoid most of it should they ever start work.

Hmmm...