A little JSA advice please?

Mr_Vek

Hi, here's my living situation; I'm 30, live with my 27 year old girlfriend and her retired mother in a flat co-owned by the pair of them.

Financial Situation:
I have some money in a current account (a pittance), no savings, no pension. My GF has no income and is a full-time student. She has a pension fund. Her mother has a decent professional-level pension (which is just as well or we'd starve ).

I've been out of work since last September now (apart from a 2-week stint of agency work) and have been living on what money I had and avoiding signing on (I've had the fun of dealing with the DWP in the past..) in hope of work coming along but it hasn't happened so far. Now I'm at the point of needing to sign on.

When I last signed on some years back I lived with my parents and it was relatively straightforward. I'm wondering if my current situation will complicate things as..

1) From what I can see my GF and I are considered to be a married couple, for all intents and purposes, simply because we live together. Our financial affairs are entirely separate as far as we're concerned. Would her assets (share in the flat and pension fund) disqualify me from claiming? It appears rather like that to me.

2) I haven't been out of work for this long before. In the past I've claimed contribution based JSA without too much trouble. Now I'm short of contributions and will need to claim Income Based, it seems. It seems to be difficult to claim this without involving my GF and her finances. Am I wrong about this? Can I claim this without involving the incomes of other members of my household, even if one is a girlfriend?

Thanks for any advice you can offer and sorry for the long post.

V

nannytone_2

the mothers income wiull be disregarded, but your girlfriends income will be treated as joint income ( yours and hers)
you wouldnt be able to claim lha either as youre living with family.

happy35

an income based claim will definitely need to involve your GF

they will look at all income that you have coming in such as student loans and bursary etc

If you GF has money invested in a proper pension scheme I wouldn't think they would touch that and it the half the flat is the one you are living in then that won't have any effect either

Mr_Vek

Thanks for the replies! I was hoping to make a claim without having to involve her but if it's unavoidable I guess I'll just need to bite the bullet.

Jowo_2

Mr_Vek wrote: »

...
1) From what I can see my GF and I are considered to be a married couple, for all intents and purposes, simply because we live together. Our financial affairs are entirely separate as far as we're concerned. Would her assets (share in the flat and pension fund) disqualify me from claiming? It appears rather like that to me.

..

Yes, your GF income would be taken into consideration for means tested benefits, including income based JSA if you do not qualify for contributions based. The principles underpinning these types of benefits are that those that live together as a couple are expected to provide 'mutual support and assistance'. Your personal preferences, the way you arrange your finances, is irrelevant to how the benefits system operates.

Here is the situation on LHA when the tenant lives in the same property as a close relative, including partner. Advice is for England but is likely to be the same for wales and scotland, too, but you can double check if you live in those locations.

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/paying_for_a_home/housing_benefit_and_local_housing_allowance/housing_benefit_if_renting_from_a_family_member#0

Oldernotwiser

Is your GF studying at degree level or below?

viktory

Mr_Vek wrote: »

From what I can see my GF and I are considered to be a married couple, for all intents and purposes, simply because we live together

Absolutely. You are a couple and unfortunately for you cannot change that fact in order to claim benefits. Therefore, your girlfriends' income will be taken into account.

You should have claimed CBJSA immediately (assuming you have paid enough NI contributions for the preceding two full tax years). You would have been awarded that regardless of your girlfriends' income.

ETA: Ah, I see you don't have enough contributions.

Mr_Vek

@Oldernotwiser: Yes, she's studying at degree level.

Also, we're based in Scotland.

Mr_Vek

Didn't have to sign on after all. Managed to nail down some work, finally! Sorry, not exactly useful for anyone who checks this thread for advice on JSA but a happy ending (for now) for me at least.

chrissiesurfergirl123

Congratulations on finding work and good luck in your new job

seven-day-weekend

Well done on your new job.