Any benefit to registering as unemployed?

MrDibbler

I'm wondering if there is any advantage to registering as unemployed and if so how to go about it without registering for benefits. For example, would registering give me access to any services relating to finding a job locally?

Some background information might help. I retired early a few years ago but am now looking to find work again. I'm not entitled to any benefits and according to gov.uk I have a full 35 years of NIC contributions and can't improve on that. It maybe worth clarifying that I'm not looking to work again for financial reasons.

Everything I read online about registering as unemployed seems to be targeted at people wanted to claim JSA. Is there a way of registering as unemployed without making a claim?

Undervalued

MrDibbler said:

I'm wondering if there is any advantage to registering as unemployed and if so how to go about it without registering for benefits. For example, would registering give me access to any services relating to finding a job locally?

Some background information might help. I retired early a few years ago but am now looking to find work again. I'm not entitled to any benefits and according to gov.uk I have a full 35 years of NIC contributions and can't improve on that. It maybe worth clarifying that I'm not looking to work again for financial reasons.

Everything I read online about registering as unemployed seems to be targeted at people wanted to claim JSA. Is there a way of registering as unemployed without making a claim?

Those rules could of course change in the future and the state pension age could rise further. How far are you from the current SP age?

If you are actively looking for work, for whatever reason, you are entitled to claim JSA and also get NI credits. You have paid into the system so surely you might as well have your legal entitlements?

p00hsticks

Undervalued said:

MrDibbler said:

I'm wondering if there is any advantage to registering as unemployed and if so how to go about it without registering for benefits. For example, would registering give me access to any services relating to finding a job locally?

Some background information might help. I retired early a few years ago but am now looking to find work again. I'm not entitled to any benefits and according to gov.uk I have a full 35 years of NIC contributions and can't improve on that. It maybe worth clarifying that I'm not looking to work again for financial reasons.

Everything I read online about registering as unemployed seems to be targeted at people wanted to claim JSA. Is there a way of registering as unemployed without making a claim?

If you are actively looking for work, for whatever reason, you are entitled to claim JSA and also get NI credits. You have paid into the system so surely you might as well have your legal entitlements?

If the OP hasn't worked for several years and so has not earned the relevant NI credits for the last couple of years, then they won't be eligible to claim JSA 
Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA): Eligibility - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

p00hsticks

MrDibbler said:

 according to gov.uk I have a full 35 years of NIC contributions and can't improve on that.

OP - just to make sure - your state pension forecast says that your forecast is currently £221.20 and that you do not need to add any further years to achieve that ?
Check your State Pension forecast - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 

I ask because there is a common misconception that 35 years NI will automatically get you a full state pension, whereas in fact it is only true for those who born since 2000, who will have started their working lives after the introduction of the new State Pension in 2016.

For the rest of us who are older, transitional rules apply which mean that depending on our individual NI records we may need anything from 29 to 50 years to reach that maximum (and some may not have been unable to reach it at all). So 35 years NI may or may not necessarily equate to the full amount of state pension. 

LinLui

Being brutally honest (and to be clear, not benefits bashing because I support benefits) if someone registered unemployed wants to work and find a job, they do so mostly under their own steam. If the services that are supposed to get unemployed people into work actually achieved that end, I know more than a few people who wouldn't have been signing on for years! I have very little confidence that most of those services are fit for purpose. 

OP - what kind of work are you talking about, and broadly whereabouts? If you are fit and retired, part-time jobs in hospitality or retail are often rather easy to find. My local supermarket has loads of older employees. One of them is 84!

p00hsticks

LinLui said:

OP - what kind of work are you talking about, and broadly whereabouts? If you are fit and retired, part-time jobs in hospitality or retail are often rather easy to find. My local supermarket has loads of older employees. One of them is 84!

And as the OP says that they are not looking to return to work for financial reasons, there are always plenty of opportunities out there for all sorts of volunteer work that they could perhaps consider ....

MrDibbler

Thanks for the replies. I'll try and answer each of the points made above here.

I'm currently 5 years off state pension age. My pension forecast is for £229.92 per week. I do not qualify for JSA and I have no need of financial assistance of any kind - I own my house outright, have no debt and over £2 million in pensions and investments.

I'm looking to find work in software development / cybersecurity but really just anything suitable in the tech sector. I have 3 related degrees, 2 of which are master's completed in the last five years in computer science and cybersecurity. My limitation is that I live in a small town in the North East and do not want to relocate.

I've never claimed any benefits and have no experience of Job Centres. I was under the impression that they might have links to local employers, hence my question about registering with them to access such resources.

LinLui

I was under the impression that they might have links to local employers   

Marcon

MrDibbler said:

Thanks for the replies. I'll try and answer each of the points made above here.

I'm currently 5 years off state pension age. My pension forecast is for £229.92 per week. I do not qualify for JSA and I have no need of financial assistance of any kind - I own my house outright, have no debt and over £2 million in pensions and investments.

I'm looking to find work in software development / cybersecurity but really just anything suitable in the tech sector. I have 3 related degrees, 2 of which are master's completed in the last five years in computer science and cybersecurity. My limitation is that I live in a small town in the North East and do not want to relocate.

I've never claimed any benefits and have no experience of Job Centres. I was under the impression that they might have links to local employers, hence my question about registering with them to access such resources.

I'm sure you have considered the possibility of working remotely, but from the sound of it you are more interested in working to get social rather than any other types of benefit? You may not want to relocate, but might it be worth looking for a role which offers either hybrid working, or straightforward 'part time', which would necessitate staying away from home a couple of nights a week? You clearly have the financial resources to do that.

TELLIT01

I would very much doubt that the JobCentre would be of any assistance whatsoever in finding employment in in software development / cybersecurity but really just anything suitable in the tech sector.  When I was made redundant from an IT support role the person in the JC said they wouldn't be much help and I was already doing more than they would do.

LinLui

If money is genuinely not the motivation, as previously suggested,  what about volunteering? A lot of charities and community organisations can't afford the services of people good with IT.

Or how about training people in computer/ IT skills to help them get jobs they need?