JSA with money in savings

keegantoon

Hi all,

I have a question that i'd like your view on please. I have last month been made redundant after working in the same company for 10 years. I was looking to claim JSA as I have just returned to live at my mother's house (first time in 10 years!) I have been a hard working individual in the financial services industry and have savings of over 16k gbp which is over the limit to be able to claim JSA. I dont understand why people who have worked hard and done what you are meant to have done i.e. saved are penalised. My question is I am looking to commit my savings to an investment or purchase, if I do commit my money i'll have under 16k gbp in savings and still be unemployed (for how long I do not know - the financial services industry has been hit hard) will I then be eligible to claim JSA?

Thanks

mealone

keegantoon wrote: »

Hi all,

I have a question that i'd like your view on please. I have last month been made redundant after working in the same company for 10 years. I was looking to claim JSA as I have just returned to live at my mother's house (first time in 10 years!) I have been a hard working individual in the financial services industry and have savings of over 16k gbp which is over the limit to be able to claim JSA. I dont understand why people who have worked hard and done what you are meant to have done i.e. saved are penalised. My question is I am looking to commit my savings to an investment or purchase, if I do commit my money i'll have under 16k gbp in savings and still be unemployed (for how long I do not know - the financial services industry has been hit hard) will I then be eligible to claim JSA?

Thanks

Your savings dont come into the first six months of a JSA claim if you are claiming on your contributions, the last 2 years class 1 national insurance contributions.

mvengemvenge

keegantoon wrote: »

Hi all,

I have a question that i'd like your view on please. I have last month been made redundant after working in the same company for 10 years. I was looking to claim JSA as I have just returned to live at my mother's house (first time in 10 years!) I have been a hard working individual in the financial services industry and have savings of over 16k gbp which is over the limit to be able to claim JSA. I dont understand why people who have worked hard and done what you are meant to have done i.e. saved are penalised. My question is I am looking to commit my savings to an investment or purchase, if I do commit my money i'll have under 16k gbp in savings and still be unemployed (for how long I do not know - the financial services industry has been hit hard) will I then be eligible to claim JSA?

Thanks

If your claim is contribution-based, as the previous poster said, it is not affected by capital.

If it is income-based, and you 'get rid' of money to qualify, it can be looked at as 'deprivation of capital', and could affect you getting benefits.

shelly

mealone is spot on. Savings aren't counted when claiming JSA contributions based.
This only lasts for 6 months though then you would go onto Income based JSA but wouldn't get it because of your savings.

I have heard of something called 'deprivation of capital' which is when you purposely deprive yourself of savings (by spending it quickly or giving it away) in order to get benefits.
I have no idea how far back they would look into your finances though (if indeed they would at all) to see if you had done this so IMO is worth checking out before you spend your savings.

Oldernotwiser

Putting savings into an investment vehicle doesn't make them disappear, they're still counted. If you spend the money, as has already been explained, your benefitsd will be assessed as if you still had it.

Why assume that you'll still be unemployed after 6 months?

BigSteveLondon

Don't forget to deduct any notice amount you got from your redundancy total, as this does not count towards capital. Cit Advice told me that and it took me below the threshold to get JSA.

keegantoon

Thank you for your responses. I have a further question, I am going to apply for the contribution based job seekers allowance which I think is based on National Insurance contributions if I understand correctly. For the last 3 years I have been living and working in the U.S. the reason I am unemployed is that my company was shut down by our owner and therefore have had to come back to the UK. In those last 3 years I have been paying U.S. National Insurance - Social Security and have not made any contributions to National Insurance UK in the last 3 years. Do you have any advice/insight into this?
Thanks

keegantoon

And this is why I am now back in the UK living at my mothers house, as for the last 3 years I have been living and working in the U.S..

zzzLazyDaisy

Presumably you mean that you have been paying FICA contributions?

You need to contact your local jobcentre plus and ask for leaflet number SA33 this explains your rights on returning to UK from USA.

movingforward2010

expect to do a HRT1 and right to reside stencil too