MSE News: Government moves towards new monthly benefit system

rogerblack

FATBALLZ wrote: »

Those who can't handle the change should probably be in an institution anyway.

Have you considered how expensive this would be?
Paying benefits weekly, or biweekly, these days is essentially free.

There is another issue.
The royal mail lose 0.5% of letters the DWP send.
Not infrequently, the first people hear of the DWP making a decision on their claim is that the money doesn't go into the account.
If this change occurs, then by the time that's happened, for many, the time to appeal the decision will have lapsed.

NASA_2

Worth bearing in mind that the government are also planning to remove crisis loan payments and if someone wishes to get payment at the start of a claim they can be paid an advance of benefit to be recovered over an agree period. Taken in conjunction with that the change mentioned above doesnt seem all that bad.

NASA_2

rogerblack wrote: »

Have you considered how expensive this would be?
Paying benefits weekly, or biweekly, these days is essentially free.

There is another issue.
The royal mail lose 0.5% of letters the DWP send.
Not infrequently, the first people hear of the DWP making a decision on their claim is that the money doesn't go into the account.
If this change occurs, then by the time that's happened, for many, the time to appeal the decision will have lapsed.

Payment into a bank account is essentially free - payment into a Post Office account (Which most benefit hoppers have) is considerably more expensive.

josie.d

I presume a loan will be offered to tide people over during the switchover and I assume that they would then follow by scrapping the job grant and housing/council tax benefit run on as benefits are paid in arrears. Therefore one would have 'enough money to tide them over until pay day' once they secure work? Would save a fair bit of money for the government..........

zagfles

Jojo_the_Tightfisted wrote: »

How would this work, when benefits entitlements are generally calculated on a weekly basis? And what of the five week month, bane of the employed masses?

What are you on about? No month ever has 5 weeks. They are either 4 weeks 3 days or 4 weeks 2 days, except for Feb which is 4 weeks, plus a day in leap years.

zagfles

totarb wrote: »

I thought most benefits are already paid every 4 weeks. Are there some that aren't?

Yes. 4 weekly, not monthly. There is a difference.

4 weekly means your payment date in the month drifts through the year and you can't tie the dates of your credit cards, council tax, gas/electric bill, mortgage etc to date you get paid. These almost invariably come out monthly.

The financial world ticks on a monthly basis, about time the benefits system did too.

wouldbeqaulitymoneysaver

More budgeting problems for us on Benefits and I think those on Benefits who are struggling to make ends meet need to be listened to and not preached at by those who don't have to live on benefits.

wouldbeqaulitymoneysaver

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NASA_2

wouldbeqaulitymoneysaver wrote: »

More budgeting problems for us on Benefits and I think those on Benefits who are struggling to make ends meet need to be listened to and not preached at by those who don't have to live on benefits.

Its not only those who are on benefits who find it hard to get by with budgets.

Those on benefits need to stop playing the sympathy card and realise that life is !!!! for most people at the minute.

wouldbeqaulitymoneysaver

The Fortnightly Payments are causing problems to me, I dread to think about Monthly Payments, whatever the rhetorical devices being employed causing self righteous indignation to swell up which I am ignoring.