JSA will run out soon

gary83

Tammykitty said:

gary83 said:

Tammykitty said:

OP I understand your frustration - personally I find the rules around assets very strange - if 2 people in similar circumstances on the same income had saved £20k, and 1 bought a house on the 1st March using their savings, they would be entitled to means tested benefits, and the other person not, despite still having the same amount of assets.
Person 1 would also be able to avail of the mortgage holidays etc. Whereas person 2 would only be able to claim contributions benefits and would still have to pay rent.

But unfortunately, these are the rules and there is nothing you can do about them currently. 
Just in case you happen to be self employed - any money saved for tax won't affect universal credit

Person 1 might be able to have a mortgage holiday, although that costs more over the long run & is a short term prospect. they won’t be able to gain help towards the mortgage costs for the first 9 months & at that point any help will be in the form of a loan that will need to be repayed they don’t have it that easy. 

I never said they had it easy - owning and house and living in Benefits is hard, especially if an unexpected expense crops up. But lets say (ignoring covid and mortgage holidays etc), that the people above, both had £20k, A bought a house on March 1st - Now has £6k, B was saving to buy a house, planning to buy in June. Both are made redundant on 31st March, both have one child.
A is entitled still has to pay his Mortgage of £600 month. 
B pays rent of £700 a month (most cases rent is more than a mortgage now)
B is entitled to no means tested benefits.

A gets benefits of £195 a week benefits (and mortgage interest after 9 months if needed)

B gets £21 child benefit and £75 JSA for 6 months only, then just child benefit.

At the end of the Unemployment -  A will still have the equity in his house, which will likely be more than it was at the start - as he is paying some off, and probably rising values.

B will have spend all his savings on rent and living expenses and will have very little left!

The property market can go up as well as down though, Your right they might be better off, however you’re completely overlooking that they might be worse off. None of us really know what’s gonna happen over the next few months & years, House prices could go down due to recession, people struggling to get accepted for mortgages, landlords offloading properties due to recent changes that the government have made - banning evictions & lengthening the amount of time before an eviction, even for tenants that refuse to pay their rent. They could easily end up in negative equity, particularly on a new build.

almanak

Grumpy_chap said:

OP - have you asked your Work Coach about NEA (New Enterprise Allowance)?  This could be worth investigating.

out of curiosity is NEA on top of Universal Credit or instead of it?

jasonwebb

P1 said:

poppy12345 said:

P1 said:

 I know families who seem to be on benefits for ever! I know several homeowners (some who are well off) on full Universal Credit

Some people are unable to work because of a health condition. Others work and claim benefits because of their low income. Homeowners living in the house they own can claim UC because any capital in their home is disregarded for means tested benefits.

I don't know how you can "judge" people without knowing all of the circumstances.

Oh Christ not pulling them down at all.  I am referring to people I know personally and they'd be screwed without the help!  I do NOT support them recieving nothing!  A proportion of this poulation is getting getting left out compared to the rest, but I accept it can't be roses for everyone.  I know people who have had the best financial summer of their lives and are pretty damn happy right now.  Others not so.  Tbh my situaiton was !!!!!!.  I got business insurance on my car and offered to follow the work vans.  I was unwilling to sharing vehicles with people saying "just the flu" who were using public transport in March and April.  I was happy to work though.  In hindsight it would have been fine for a few months if I carried on:/.    Is what it is.  So glad I went down the "what is money" rabbit hole and invested when I did.  The rainy day arrived!

Thanks for the replies.  Some good points

I’m interested, what is the “what is money rabbit hole”????

dod you invest in crypto or gold?

jasonwebb

gary83 said:

Tammykitty said:

OP I understand your frustration - personally I find the rules around assets very strange - if 2 people in similar circumstances on the same income had saved £20k, and 1 bought a house on the 1st March using their savings, they would be entitled to means tested benefits, and the other person not, despite still having the same amount of assets.
Person 1 would also be able to avail of the mortgage holidays etc. Whereas person 2 would only be able to claim contributions benefits and would still have to pay rent.

But unfortunately, these are the rules and there is nothing you can do about them currently. 
Just in case you happen to be self employed - any money saved for tax won't affect universal credit

Person 1 might be able to have a mortgage holiday, although that costs more over the long run & is a short term prospect. they won’t be able to gain help towards the mortgage costs for the first 9 months & at that point any help will be in the form of a loan that will need to be repayed they don’t have it that easy. 

Perfect then get the mortgage holiday for the nine months😁

jasonwebb

almanak said:

Grumpy_chap said:

OP - have you asked your Work Coach about NEA (New Enterprise Allowance)?  This could be worth investigating.

out of curiosity is NEA on top of Universal Credit or instead of it?

On top of