Paying Bills Whilst Unemployed?

Spoonie_Turtle

sportsarb wrote: »

Not to be pedantic but if it were me, I would claim both JSA and UC, JSA to protect contributions and UC because it would probably be required to get payments.

That said, during my brief time working in UC I never absorbed whether it protected NIC's, but I got the impression it doesn't.

Does ESA do anything for NICs though? OP is already unemployed and on ESA.

calcotti

Spoonie_Turtle wrote: »

Does ESA do anything for NICs though? OP is already unemployed and on ESA.

ESA gives Class 1 Credits. But he was asking about what happens if ESA stops.

Spoonie_Turtle

calcotti wrote: »

ESA gives Class 1 Credits. But he was asking about what happens if ESA stops.

Would that entitle him to new-style JSA then, if ESA stopped? (Genuinely asking because I don't know.)

calcotti

Spoonie_Turtle wrote: »

Would that entitle him to new-style JSA then, if ESA stopped? (Genuinely asking because I don't know.)

It would depend on how long he had been on ESA. To get JSA he would have to have actually paid, or been treated as having paid, some NI contributions within the relevant years. This would need him to have been in work for some of the time. The ESA credits would count for meeting the overall NI test for JSA but would not be sufficient in themselves.

sportsarb

calcotti wrote: »

UC gives Class 3 NI credits which protects State Pension entitlement but not other benefits - however State Pension is the main thing claimants will be concerned about.

It strikes me that it shouldn't be the only thing they care about, its certainly not the only thing I care about, as it would be beneficial in some circumstances to have the option of claiming JSA New Style at some point in the future. That's assuming they haven't radically change the contribution conditions in the last few years and credits still count, partly, towards entitlement.

Spoonie_Turtle wrote: »

Does ESA do anything for NICs though? OP is already unemployed and on ESA.

I'm labouring under the impression that ESA will help satisfy at least the second contribution condition of JSA entitlement conditions.

calcotti

sportsarb wrote: »

I'm labouring under the impression that ESA will help satisfy at least the second contribution condition of JSA entitlement conditions.

Yes they do.

sportsarb wrote: »

It strikes me that it shouldn't be the only thing they care about, its certainly not the only thing I care about, as it would be beneficial in some circumstances to have the option of claiming JSA New Style at some point in the future. .

I accept that will be an issue for some people but only if they think they might be excluded from claiming UC in the future due to having come into capital or having gained income from other sources. If neither of these apply and they are a jobseeker in the future they can simply claim UC again (which of course can be claimed for longer than the six month limit on new style JSA.

I certainly not suggesting that people should not consider the Implications.

venomx

Grey's_Anatomyfan643 wrote: »

To OP - You can't have money for free, you need to work to earn money or claim benefits to seek work to get money! Wish we all think like the OP where you don't have to do anything for money!

I suffer from paranoid schizophrenia and have done for 6 years, with a diagnosis and medication, including being sectioned for 4 years straight. If I was fit for work i'd get a job in an instant

Spoonie_Turtle

Grey's_Anatomyfan643 wrote: »

To OP - You can't have money for free, you need to work to earn money or claim benefits to seek work to get money! Wish we all think like the OP where you don't have to do anything for money!

venomx wrote: »

I suffer from paranoid schizophrenia and have done for 6 years, with a diagnosis and medication, including being sectioned for 4 years straight. If I was fit for work i'd get a job in an instant

I rather think Grey's_Anatomyfan may have missed the point in your opening post that you're currently on ESA - though it was a bit of a confusing question to begin with. If your ESA ends because you've become fit for work (genuinely fit, not just because the DWP have wrongly decided you're no longer entitled to ESA, in which case you'd be appealing the decision) then of course you'd get a job, and UC would top up part-time earnings if need be. If for a time you were unemployed but looking for work, then there would be JSA if you met the criteria or UC