What support for a single person?

IAMIAM

Hi,
Asking for a friend here, she has currently been made redundant and has never been out of work/on benefits.
What is she entitled to - Is it Income based JSA/Universal Credit/Mortgage Interest/Council Tax whilst seeking employment (won't take long hopefully, but just want to help her out too). No dependants, and only asset is mortgage/house.
Thanks All.

KatrinaWaves

Income based JSA is gone now. If she has sufficient NI contributions (and I’m sure she’ll will if as you say this has been her first time out of work) she can claim contributions based JSA or UC. It could be worth looking at what’s best for her if she has no savings or other income as currently UC has a higher payment as there is a covid premium, so to me it would seem better to go with UC, but I’m not expert.

Mortgage interest is a loan now and there is a long waiting period, I think 39 weeks for both JSA and UC, so not something she will qualify for for a while. 

Council tax support/reduction (each council cals it something different!) is separate and will need to be applied for at her local council (not to be confused with her single persons discount, the two are separate and can be claimed separately)

IAMIAM

Thank you for this. Do you get Contributions Based JSA AND Universal Credit. Or just one?

Spoonie_Turtle

IAMIAM said:

Thank you for this. Do you get Contributions Based JSA AND Universal Credit. Or just one?

You can get both together, but the JSA amount will be deducted in full from UC, so overall based on the information you've given (no other income) there will be no financial difference between claiming UC alone or with JSA.

JSA gives class 1 NI credits which can count towards future benefit entitlement in certain circumstances whereas UC gives class 3. Both classes of NI credits count towards State Pension.

Alice_Holt

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/universal-credit/before-you-apply/Check-if-you-can-get-Universal-Credit/
https://www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/new-style-jobseekers-allowance
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/help-if-on-a-low-income/help-with-your-council-tax-council-tax-reduction/council-tax-reduction-making-an-application/council-tax-reduction-who-can-apply/


This may be worth considering:
https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/rent-a-room-scheme-how-it-works-and-tax-rules
as "If you’re on Universal Credit, any money you get from sub-tenants and lodgers under the rent-a-room scheme will not be counted as income up to the tax-free allowance of £7,500. This means it is a great way to supplement your income."

May help pay the mortgage, as UC will only cover very basic living expenses (£410 pm).

poppy12345

IAMIAM said:

Thank you for this. Do you get Contributions Based JSA AND Universal Credit. Or just one?

It is called New Style JSA now, not Contributions based JSA. It's paid for 26 weeks at £74.35 per week (over 25's) https://www.gov.uk/guidance/new-style-jobseekers-allowance

If they claim UC as well then it would be better to claim this once they've received their final pay from their employer, otherwise earnings will reduce the amount of UC they're entitled to by 63%, if they don't have the work allowance.

As advised, there will be no support for the mortgage because under UC you need to have 9 concecutive assessment periods with zero earnings.

If they have savings/capital of more than £16,000 they will be excluded from claiming UC. A claim for UC will end any tax credits they may already be claiming.

IAMIAM

Thanks for this. So £410 per month on UC AND £75 a week with New Style JSA for 26 weeks as a minimum. So is that in effect around £700 a month for 6 months then it just drops to UC only?

Rubyroobs

Spoonie_Turtle said:

IAMIAM said:

Thank you for this. Do you get Contributions Based JSA AND Universal Credit. Or just one?

You can get both together, but the JSA amount will be deducted in full from UC, so overall based on the information you've given (no other income) there will be no financial difference between claiming UC alone or with JSA.

JSA gives class 1 NI credits which can count towards future benefit entitlement in certain circumstances whereas UC gives class 3. Both classes of NI credits count towards State Pension.

There would be a difference until April 2020 due to the covid increase.

Alice_Holt

IAMIAM said:

Thanks for this. So £410 per month on UC AND £75 a week with New Style JSA for 26 weeks as a minimum. So is that in effect around £700 a month for 6 months then it just drops to UC only?

     No .     Just £410 pm.  
     You missed the bit where Spoonie_Turtle told you "You can get both together, but the JSA amount will be deducted in full from UC,"

calcotti

If there is entitlement to UC then I think it’s worth claiming this because JSA will stop if she finds another job whereas UC will not reduce/stop until first payment from a new job is received. However, as poppy said, do not claim UC until final payment from recent job has been received.
Claiming JSA with UC may be worth while because of the Class 1 NI credits. JSA could be claimed immediately.
JSA would stop after 26 weeks maximum whereas UC will continue as long as there is entitlement.

Spoonie_Turtle

Rubyroobs said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

IAMIAM said:

Thank you for this. Do you get Contributions Based JSA AND Universal Credit. Or just one?

You can get both together, but the JSA amount will be deducted in full from UC, so overall based on the information you've given (no other income) there will be no financial difference between claiming UC alone or with JSA.

JSA gives class 1 NI credits which can count towards future benefit entitlement in certain circumstances whereas UC gives class 3. Both classes of NI credits count towards State Pension.

There would be a difference until April 2020 due to the covid increase.

Difference between UC alone or JSA alone, yes.
But no difference between claiming UC alone or claiming both JSA and UC.