Can I claim Universal Credit?

JulieClot

calcotti said:

JulieClot said:

tax year 18-19 i earned £15.5k net profit. how much does that give under the gov self employed bursary in june?

What were your profits in the previous two years? It's based on the three year average. If your only year is 18-19 then the SEISS would be £3,100 based on profit of £15,500 (£15,500 x 80% / 4).

alright, thank you.
why divide by 4, what's that all about? 

Nannytone

That's the amount you would have earned in 3 months
They won't pay you for the whole of the 20 to 21 tax year at this stage because presumably you will be back at work and learning long before then

calcotti

JulieClot said:

alright, thank you.
why divide by 4, what's that all about? 

it's for a 3 month period which is 1/4 of the year.

JulieClot

Hello.
I've been saving up to buy an apartment. I've got around £170k in the bank.
This money was going to be used to buy a 1 bed apartment outright, no mortgage.

But, my argument is that this money isn't savings. It's to buy a property.
If I bought the property now, I'd have only a few grand left over.
This means I'd be under the £16k savings limit for UC.

So, my argument is that, although i've got over £16k in the bank, this money isn't classed as savings, it's to buy an essential purchase, a property. So, I actually have little to no savings.

Does this mean I can apply for UC?

calcotti

No. It’s savings. The intended purpose has no bearing on entitlement to UC.

NedS

Unless you can show that you were in the process of purchasing a property, and that purchase has been delayed by the current situation with coronavirus, the savings will be treated as capital and you will not be eligible to apply. Decision makers will consider exceptional circumstances, but this doesn't sound like it's one of them.

poppy12345

New style JSA can be claimed for 6 months if you've paid enough NI Contributions in tax year April 2017 to March 2019.

tomtom256

JulieClot said:

Hello.
I've been saving up to buy an apartment. I've got around £170k in the bank.
This money was going to be used to buy a 1 bed apartment outright, no mortgage.

But, my argument is that this money isn't savings. It's to buy a property.
If I bought the property now, I'd have only a few grand left over.
This means I'd be under the £16k savings limit for UC.

So, my argument is that, although i've got over £16k in the bank, this money isn't classed as savings, it's to buy an essential purchase, a property. So, I actually have little to no savings.

Does this mean I can apply for UC?

"I have been saving up", from your own words, it can only be savings.

Spoonie_Turtle

I get that property is an important purchase, but if you already have a roof over your head it cannot in any way be considered essential.

It may not feel fair, but in such uncertain times you at least have the financial means to live quite comfortably if you so choose. No waiting 5 weeks for your first UC payment, no having to budget every last penny and risking going hungry if you turn up to the supermarket to find only the expensive versions of staple groceries are left, no worrying how you're going to pay for the extra energy use from always being at home. I'm not by any means saying you automatically have it easy, but at the opposite end of the financial spectrum that is the reality. The pandemic has turned everybody's life upside-down in one way or another, so we need to maybe let go of some expectations and look at the positives in our own situations as far as possible. Dwelling on how unfair things are is an added stress that you don't need

[Deleted User]

OP I would consider myself lucky to have savings to see me through these difficult times, you could always get a small mortgage when the time comes.