How Can I Save Money Whilst Claiming Benifits

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What Is The Best Way To Save Money Into A Savings Account When My Income Is Benifits Of £140.00 A Week !!!

How Can I Put Moneys Away For The Future. Baring In Mind I Am Menaly And Fisicly Disabled ??

Is There A Easy Or Good Way Of Saving Lump Sums Of Moneys ??

[Deleted User]

For the amounts you're looking to save I'd suggest one of the following:

1. An ISA if you don't think you'll need access to the money (if you do then you tend to incur charges e.g. a loss of 90 days worth of interest), something like:

http://www.skipton.co.uk/savings_and_investments/isas/fixed_rate_cash_isa/

2. An instant access savings account with a standing order set up from your current account if you feel you'll need access to the money, something like:

http://www.askbm.co.uk/savings/i/easy/product.asp?id=151

Newly_retired

You may be entitled to more benefits. I suggest you go to the Citizens Advice Bureau and get a benefit check. They will tell you if you are entitled to receive any more money in benefits eg Disabled Living Allowance, Incapacity Benefit, or maybe Council Tax Benefit or Housing Benefit. This could give you more income to save.

jdavtz

Doesn't saving money (as opposed to buying expensive stuff and being in debt) mean you get reduced benefits though? Maybe there are forms of savings which aren't counted?

My sister's husband can't work because of health issues, but can't claim much (anything?) in the way of benefits as he's saved all his life and has reasonable savings. If he'd bought a car or two and a big TV and had a mortgage he could have claimed benefits. Crazy!

meester

jdavtz wrote: »

Doesn't saving money (as opposed to buying expensive stuff and being in debt) mean you get reduced benefits though? Maybe there are forms of savings which aren't counted?

I think this is the point. The answer to the question 'how can I save money while on benefits', is 'you can't, because you will lose your benefits'.

That said there may be

(a) ways around this
(b) there is a limit below which savings aren't counted

would suggest posting on the

benefits forum, probably a better place

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.html?f=139

fimonkey

I'm sure I'll be shot down in flames for saying this, but....

... If you have enough money left over after claiming benefits to be able to save, doesn't that mean the benefit is too high in the first place?

OK, I know there are different kinds of benefits, and although the OP doesn't say which benefit they receive (I guess its incapacity due to disability) my thought above pertains to JSA however, if you can save AND live on JSA, then my blummin taxes are going to waste!

Wasn't the mother of the 15yr old girl killed in India recently on benefits, and she'd saved up enough from them to take a 3 month trip to India with her daughter.... surely no one out there thinks that's right do they?

....Fire away!

hyposmurf

I can see where you are coming from fimonkey.Benefits should be there to enable people to just get by not profit from the goverments generosity.

Milarky

It will be interesting to see if the government's new (and much delayed) 'savings gateway' scheme - due in 2010 - a partial matched savings account for 'low income' households

i) includes JSA/IS benefit recipients as eligible to be counted as 'low income'
ii) amends the current rules on withdrawal of benefits in some way?

However, even where JSA/IS recipients are subject to the current 'clawback' restrictions, a matched savings scheme would be worthwhile for them:

For instance, suppose the match is 1 for 2 (£1 for each £2 saved) and also suppose that the benefit recipient already has £3000 - and so is subject to hypothecated benefit withdrawal - this is 'only' at the rate of 20.8% [£1 per week for every £250 above the disregarded amount] - thus an uplift of 50% - then clawed back at 20.8% is still an immediate gain of 18.8%....

[I shall go and look for some info about savings gateway now]

First see here (the consultation pdf)


- You can respond to the 'consultation' by writing to the address contained in section 8 before 4th JUNE

The proposed Savings Gateway

1) Will be eligible to individuals on 'passported' benefits only ('low income' as such doesn't come into it... ..worthy of a comment (even though they don't want you to comment on this aspect) surely?

2) The government 'match' (so called) is capped at £25 per month of saving up to a maximum of 24 months x £25 or £600. This would be paid as a 'bonus' only at the end of the 2 year terms of these accounts [Think 'TESSA' without the rolled up interest on the bonus]

3) They don't specify what the match rate will be - whether £1 for £1 or less. They remark:
"The Government will further consider the rate at which to set the match. The pilots tested match rates of 20p, 50p and £1 per £1 saved. The evidence from the pilots demonstrated that the match rate did not need to be as high as £1 per £1 to incentivise people to save." ('You don't, say. Einstein?') and the lowest figure they mention is 20p for £1. The failure to spell out what the rate of match will be is another fact surely worth commenting on - with suggestions - even though the consultation doesn't ask for views on this point either

4) Depending on what rate they set the match at, the saver needs to save a multiple of £25 to receive the full benefits. Wouldn't you think it makes a big difference if the amount required is to achieve this is as much as £125 for someone on benefits (deemed 'low income') or only £25 a month? I'm guessing the government is being deliberately obtuse over not naming the rate at this stage and has already decided it's going to be 50p to £1 - since £50 per month is probably the limit of what they can expect people to put aside.

5) It says at one point: "As in the pilots, if a saver is unable to pay in the full matchable amount up to the limit in one month they will not be permitted to make up that amount in a subsequent month. Only deposits up to the match limit for the month will qualify for the match payment."

6) However it does say that these accounts must allow withdrawal (instant access) to the saved amount back to £1. To prevent people just taking out this month's payment and paying it back again next month (churning) any amount withdrawn as to be re-saved before a match for that month can be earned - so they've thought that one out!
6.5) One 'good thing' I noticed is that if 'circumstances change' and you became ineligible as a result of leaving a 'passported' benefit you don't lose the right to keep the account going...

7) A 'return' (interest) must be payable on all Saving Gateway accounts. However, given that requirement to grant access, those returns won't be very competitive I'm guessing - that's not to discount that some banks and building societies won't offer a subsidized rate to attract their Saving Gateway customers - they might - but that very much depends on how much competition there is for them

8) The document doesn't say that you can't open a second SG account after two years (a notable omission worth commenting on?) Logically, there isn't much mileage in a one off account of such short duration for commercial providers unless the are intended to be 'permanent'. On the other hand the government (which already has less than zero money) will be hard pressed to fund this as an ongoing initiative (one that will have taken them 9 years to knock out) So perhaps another question they could have asked - but didn't - is: whether SG accounts should be repeatable i) a set number of times or ii) as long as the individual remains eligible?

9) The government does however have bright things planned for those precious savings generated after two years: they want to make them 'ISA-able' - just like TESSAs

10) They also say that SG accounts must be transferrable 'out' (but always not 'in'?) just like ISAs are now during the two years

11) Didn't see whether 'tax' on the 'return' was even mentioned in the consultation: Again, wouldn't you think that after two pilots and 7 years umming they would know (or, at least share their thoughts) on this?

12) Likewise, would SGs be disregarded only for certain benefit purposes as ISAs are today - i.e 'yes' for tax credits, 'no' for JSA etc? I suspect the answer is going to be 'yes' - because once these are ISAs later on they would be treated differently by the different benefits under the current rules

[It would be nice if someone could look over the government PDF and come on to correct any errors I may have generated]

TomsMom

I don't know about other benefits but I do know that if you receive Incapacity Benefit it doesn't matter if you have savings. I was on IB for about 5 years before I retired and savings never came into the picture.

As far as IB is concerned then is it right, just because one is unfortunate enough to become ill enough to be unable to work, that benefit is denied because a person has some savings? That would be penalising the person for something beyond their control.

The way things stand at the moment, one of the things National Insurance Contributions cover is some kind of benefit whilst ill. And whilst this is the case then a person should be entitled to that benefit regardless of whether or not they have any money in the bank.

As I said, I only have knowledge of IB, not any other kind of benefit so my thoughts are directed towards that benefit only.