early retirement & job seekers allowance

clairehi

[QUOTE=the cost of the stamps worked out to about £4.20 a fortnight (I was signing on once a fortnight) and was cheaper than bussing or driving in to sign on.
QUOTE]

Yes, at £2 a week the Class 2 (self-employed ) NI contribution rate is an absolute bargain and its probably a great Money Saving idea to become "self-employed" just for the contribution to your state pension, if you dont pay Class 1 contributions or qualify for HRP.

Xbigman

The way to do it appears to be to retire early but defer your pension for a year. You then claim income based JSA (and council benefit etc) for the year, then retire. This assumes you will benefit from a deferment.
Regards



X

jess444_2

HI,

OH has just taken early retirement ages 52 years. He is looking to go to college in September and has been told if he is on JSA he will get reduced fees, (otherwise could be £3000:eek:) He gets £600 a month so I know he wont get any payments, but do you think they will let him sign on anyway??

Jess

Laurieg

Maypole,
I work for part of the Civil Service, (engineering branch), and we are being made redundant soon. We have been told that you can claim the first 6 months under the contribution rule, (make sure that you tell the case worker that at the start. Their words), which is not means tested. From then on it is under the normal rules which is tested and bang goes any payment because of you saving/pension etc.
I may be wrong if someone can correct me though.

traineepensioner

Hi Laurieg,

We have been told that you can claim the first 6 months under the contribution rule, (make sure that you tell the case worker that at the start. Their words), which is not means tested. From then on it is under the normal rules which is tested and bang goes any payment because of you saving/pension etc.

Does this mean you can claim a company pension and claim 6 months JSA (contribution rules)? I thought that I'd have to defer my pension for 6 months in order to claim the contribution JSA.

Could anyone confirm whether this is correct?

Many thanks

anamenottaken

traineepensioner wrote: »

Hi Laurieg,

We have been told that you can claim the first 6 months under the contribution rule, (make sure that you tell the case worker that at the start. Their words), which is not means tested. From then on it is under the normal rules which is tested and bang goes any payment because of you saving/pension etc.

Does this mean you can claim a company pension and claim 6 months JSA (contribution rules)? I thought that I'd have to defer my pension for 6 months in order to claim the contribution JSA.

Could anyone confirm whether this is correct?

Many thanks

Will he genuinely be looking for a job or is the early retirement exactly that, retirement from full-time employment.

traineepensioner

Hi anamenottaken,

"Will he genuinely be looking for a job or is the early retirement exactly that, retirement from full-time employment."

In order to claim any JSA you have to be looking for employment
Claiming your pension benefits doesn't necessarily mean that you've retired.

On a personal level, I'll be looking for a more enjoyable job with less stress and probably less remuneration I'm unsure whether my pension would preclude me from claiming contribution JSA. (Deferring my pension for 6 months would reduce the actuarial hit).

Thanks,

CLAPTON

emptynester wrote: »

HI there

My hubby retired in October 05 with a final salary pension; he was 51 but had to go as he had served his 30 years. He tried to sign on but could only get his national insurance contributions paid. He was told he did not qualify for job seekers allowance as he would be in receipt of an occupational pension.

Can only speak for our local Job Centre Plus, but he was treated like an idiot; even though he was only getting his NI paid he still had to sign a job seekers contract and report for signing on each fortnight. One week he was 10 mins late owing to parking problems and was told that if he was late again they would sign him off!

Luckily he has now found a part time job, he tried full time but the amount of tax he had to pay was astronomical as he is still paying PAYE on his pension which means the Inland Revenue count any other employment as a second income and therefore he is on Basic Rate deductions (ouch!)

Taxed to the hilt, first on his salary, now on his pension and finally on his now part time earnings - is it fair ?

So much for being good and contributing to a pension.

A little unclear

did he voluntarily retire ? if so why should the taxpayer fund additional JSA funds?

unless his total income is in excess of 43,875 then he will only pay 20% tax on any additional earning just like anyone else:

exil

Hmmm. As I'm on a final salary pension I consider myself lucky and would not, I think, complain about tax should I be lucky enough to find a job after retiring, voluntarily or otherwise.

Katykat

A little harsh clapton. Emptynestor did not say OH got any JSA, only that he signed on to get his stamp. & you have to pay tax on anything over the personal allowance, which is about £7000 or thereabouts. Emptynester means ( I think) that he paid tax on his earnings whilst employed, now he pays tax on his pension, & also on his part time earnings. If he'd been a lazy ar*e & never worked, he would never have paid any tax at all, but he would have been holding his hand out for every benefit available. But he towed the line, paid his dues, & the IR is still not satisfied.