Better off on benefits

princessdon

So you omitted the fact that you have a working partner from your original question.

Did you not think that was relevant?

Alleycat

You posted again just as I was typing so my figures are not accurate. I had assumed you were a single person.

You would need to look at your finances as a whole rather than separately. When you did the entitled to calculator, did you put your partners wages in as well?

Also, you would likely only get JSA Contributions Based for 6 months, then your whole household income would be considered when being assessed for Income Based. It is likely if there are no children that you would not qualify for that.

PippaGirl_2

It sounds to me as if you have more debt than you can afford. Might be worth going to the CAB and setting up a DMP with them so that you pay affordable payments towards paying it off.

Also your phone bill is huge. I pay £10.25 for 300 minutes, unlimited texts and 500mg data. I would think only business people would need more than that, even more minutes is not much more.

morganedge

kingfisherblue wrote: »

If your rent and bills are £365 a month, why would you get £504 housing benefit? Surely your housing benefit would be no more than the cost of your rent alone?

I dont know? How does it work? Is there a set amount that people get and if your rent is more you have to make it up yourself? Or do they just pay whatever your rent is and no more? I have no idea about this sort of stuff.

But yes, I can understand your temptation about wanting to live on benefits. I sometimes ponder the same thoughts. All that free time. No loading lorries for 10 hours per day from 7am. Bliss.

As for your job, I thought it was only if you quit you could be sanctioned? Though I guess it makes sense if you were 'fired', as in, done something really bad which meant they could no longer employ you. But other than being sacked or quitting, how else do you 'lose' a permanent job?! Company closing down or somthing?

However, there are ways around this 'loophole', anyway

midnight_express

Any means tested benefits would take your partners income in to account. Conts based JSA IS ONLY PAID FOR 26 weeks. If give up your job or get sacked you can be sanctioned for up to 26 weeks. You would only get income based Jsa if your partner earne less than £111 a week.

morganedge

Alleycat wrote: »

So dependent on how much the bills included in the rent work out to be, you would likely be more like £100 worse off not better.

OK.....Here's the thing, though.
Isn't that still tempting.

For example, if my boss said to me, ''Hey, new deal, Morganedge. Your pay is being cut from 1000 per month to 900 per month, however, you don't need to ever actually come here or work for it anymore''
I'd bite his hand off!!!

We all dream of not having to go to work

sleepless_saver

Assuming you're entitled to contribution based JSA, you do realise this only lasts 6 months? After that your partner's income is taken into account and you would likely not get any. Also partner's income is taken into account from the outset for housing benefit and council tax benefit.

BigAunty

Fay_elizabeth wrote: »

I live with my partner, our entire rent is £650 (bills not inc.) He is also on a low wage. I checked the lambeth council website for all of these figures.

Double check - even if your partner works for the National Minimum wage and gets around 11k a year, I'd be surprised if JSA on your part results in housing benefit of around £500 out of £650 per month, leaving him with just £35 a week to pay.

How much does he earn - is he working part time, too?

Fay_elizabeth

princessdon wrote: »

So you omitted the fact that you have a working partner from your original question.

Did you not think that was relevant?

I really don't understand why it should be relevant. We are two separate people with separate finances, I know the job centre and benefits office doesn't see it that way but it really annoys me, its such an old fashioned view.

Fay_elizabeth

BigAunty wrote: »

Double check - even if your partner works for the National Minimum wage and gets around 11k a year, I'd be surprised if JSA on your part results in housing benefit of around £500 out of £650 per month, leaving him with just £35 a week to pay.

How much does he earn - is he working part time, too?

A lot of people are questioning my maths and saying that it doesn't add up but I got all of these figures from the Lambeth council benefits application. I filled in it exactly as if I was unemployed and these were the figures.

My boyfriend works 23 hours a week for £749 a month.