Low Income - No Benefits or Tax Credits Allowed!!!

xylophone

If the OP were employed by a company, he would be automatically enrolled in a pension scheme - the government positively encourages pension saving and I do not see that using part of the savings to make a contribution to a pension and then continuing to make regular contributions could be penalised.

https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/pensions-for-the-self-employed

ROldfield

I already have contacted my MP who understood my circumstance and put it forward to the right department however as you can imagine they weren't interested, so now we have no other options really.

NeilCr wrote: »

The problem is that no-one has yet devised a benefit scheme that is fair to all and rewards "good" people and punishes "bad" people. There will always be winners and losers and there will always be people just under or just over limits. There is no one size fits all. I saw someone this morning at CAB who neatly falls into one of the current gaps

Given your example here what would you suggest as a way of dealing with it without undue bureaucracy?

OP has been given solid advice about pension contributions etc. Unfortunately, as said, them's the rules and that's how they effect OP at the moment. Maybe the best way forward is to draw these inequalities to the attention of the local MP and lobby for changes

ROldfield

Thank you all for your thoughts and advice.

For mine and my family's future I really would like to start a pension however it's just the thought of the worst case scenario if I was to become ill and not work or find work, if my money was in a pension I would be screwed as I can't touch it!

bspm1

ROldfield wrote: »

Thank you all for your thoughts and advice.

For mine and my family's future I really would like to start a pension however it's just the thought of the worst case scenario if I was to become ill and not work or find work, if my money was in a pension I would be screwed as I can't touch it!

If you were ill or unable to find work and had no savings, or just a smaller amount then surely you would get help via benefits??
Isn't that the point of your thread?

8ofspades

bspm1 wrote: »

If you were ill or unable to find work and had no savings, or just a smaller amount then surely you would get help via benefits??
Isn't that the point of your thread?

And your pension would then be protected, which is also an important consideration.

ROldfield

Our joint income is £26,000, we don't NEED the help but it would have been nice to get what UC says we can get.
£400 a month would be a massive help for us and take a lot of pressure off us.

We saved up all our lives so we could buy our own house instead of renting, we succeeded with this and are the type of people to not spend on luxuries and instead put the money away.

Like I say because I'm self employed and our low joint income it made it even more important for us to put money away.

As you can imagine my Wife is coming to the end of her maternity so from her £11,000 yearly salary she's getting very little maternity pay and we're having to go into savings because we can't get help while others who have a pension through their employer or spend money are getting £400 a month when their salaries are a lot higher.

8ofspades wrote: »

It may count as deprivation if savings, but there's not enough info on this online - in my opinion, as you are self-employed with no formal pension pot, putting the money into a pension should not count - I would call for advice if you do want to take this route in order to secure benefits

Do you need the extra money to help with the child? I do get the frustrations that you feel like you are missing out but everyone has the same criteria there if they need it, and we all have the freedom to be silly or careful with our money. The welfare system has to draw the line somewhere, it allows you £6k of savings with no penalties which on a low income would be roughly 6 months emergency pot.

ROldfield

No, the point of the thread is to bring light to the fact we have very low incomes and should be allowed the money we're entitled to regardless of our savings.

bspm1 wrote: »

If you were ill or unable to find work and had no savings, or just a smaller amount then surely you would get help via benefits??
Isn't that the point of your thread?

8ofspades

ROldfield wrote: »

Our joint income is £26,000, we don't NEED the help but it would have been nice to get what UC says we can get.
£400 a month would be a massive help for us and take a lot of pressure off us.

We saved up all our lives so we could buy our own house instead of renting, we succeeded with this and are the type of people to not spend on luxuries and instead put the money away.

Like I say because I'm self employed and our low joint income it made it even more important for us to put money away.

As you can imagine my Wife is coming to the end of her maternity so from her £11,000 yearly salary she's getting very little maternity pay and we're having to go into savings because we can't get help while others who have a pension through their employer or spend money are getting £400 a month when their salaries are a lot higher.

I imagine they only said you could get that because they didn't know about the savings. It's frustrating, but you don't meet the criteria because you have savings you can use. You make the choice to have the savings there and available even though it's not the wisest financial decision considering that you would also like help via benefits and that you have saved so much because you see it as your pension.
If having a family was planned, you could have looked at your situation and what help you would be able to get once maternity was over and planned for it.
I really would stop comparing to others, it does nothing but make you more frustrated and angry and feel like you are being hard done by.

8ofspades

ROldfield wrote: »

No, the point of the thread is to bring light to the fact we have very low incomes and should be allowed the money we're entitled to regardless of our savings.

But you're not entitled to it...?! You feel you should be entitled to it.

bspm1

ROldfield wrote: »

No, the point of the thread is to bring light to the fact we have very low incomes and should be allowed the money we're entitled to regardless of our savings.

Ok, first things first, 26K is NOT a very low income, you have managed to save enough by being careful, well done to you both.

You say your partner earns 11k a year as a teaching assistant and you 15k a year in a self employed profession, self employment carries risks, I take my hat off to people who take that chance, it works for some, not others.but maybe a self employed job that pays only 15k a year is not viable, especially as you say it is a very low income yet you have managed to save so well done to you both.

' My son ventured in to the world of self employment over 12 years ago, he loved his work and wanted to carry on with it but made the decision that when they had the first baby he needed guaranteed wages so went back to his teaching profession, he isn't as happy but he now has a very well paid, guaranteed (we all know nothing is guaranteed) job with a secure pension.

In saying that you should receive benefits as you have a very low income yet have managed to save so that you do not qualify for them is rather selfish on your part too. Benefits are there for people who have not managed to save, benefits aren't always paid to people who got their wages every week, spent it all on drink or wasted it in others opinion, sometimes they are paid to people genuinely in need, people who have worked all their lives and have not wasted money, that is called life.