Income Support, JSA - Differences?

James_013 · 14 February 2009 at 12:23AM

Hey people
what are the differences between Income support and JobSeekers Allowance?

Thanks

elaina79 · 14 February 2009 at 12:28AM

Hi

Job seekers allowance is for people who can actively seek work and must sign on once per fortnight.
Income support is for people who cannot work, either because they have a child under 12 or are a carer.

mdhughes03 · 14 February 2009 at 12:31AM

I think you can also recieve IS if you are on incapacity benefit too.

[Deleted User] · 14 February 2009 at 1:23AM

mdhughes03 wrote: »

I think you can also recieve IS if you are on incapacity benefit too.

Yes you can providing the applicable I/S is higher than what you receive in I/B

atomicsheep · 14 February 2009 at 8:55AM

you can also get it if you are not able to look for work due to court action

bestpud · 14 February 2009 at 9:35AM

Who is eligible?

You may be able to get Income Support if you're aged 16 to 59 and any of the following apply:

you're a lone parent
you're registered sick or disabled
you're a student and either a lone parent or disabled
you're caring for someone who's sick or elderly

and the following apply:

you don't have savings of £16,000 or more
you're not working, or work on average less than 16 hours a week

You may also be entitled to Income Support if you have a low income and:

you're sick and your Statutory Sick Pay is less than the amount of Income Support you would be entitled to
you or your partner or civil partner are not working because of parental leave
you're on paternity leave

JSA is for people who are able to work, and they should be actively seeking it.

sue1953 · 15 February 2009 at 9:07PM

I thought you had to claim Employment and Support Allowance if you were sick or disabled rather than Income Support. It is my understanding that Income Support and Incapacity Benefit have been replaced by ESA if you claiming on the basis of being incapable of work

von · 15 February 2009 at 9:27PM

If you became sick after 26/10/08 you have to claim ESA instead of Income Support and Incapacity benefit.

crazygaijin · 16 February 2009 at 12:34AM

elaina79 wrote: »

Hi

Job seekers allowance is for people who can actively seek work and must sign on once per fortnight.
Income support is for people who cannot work, either because they have a child under 12 or are a carer.

I have a child under 12, shall I claim JSA or IS? Or maybe I claim JSA and my wife claims IS?

Unemployment looming JSA,LHA questions please
My wife and I have a 1 year old and its looking like I may be losing my job after more than a decade. Company going bankrupt.

We are renting a small 3 bed house, so if I do have to apply for JSA will I be able to apply for LHA as well? I am told I only qualify for a 2 bedroom house, does it matter that we live in a 3 bed? Will I just receive less LHA, or will we have to move to a smaller place?

Also I was the only breadwiner, my wife is a full time mum/housewife. If I sign on, does my wife have sign on as well with a 1year old?

One other question, I havent paid enough NI contributions and have no money or anything. Could someone tell me what my family may be entitled to? What would be the JSA for a family like mine to live on?

I have never claimed a penny (apart from TC) I have worked straight from school and am a bit scared about the global crisis.

Thanks in advance for any helpful posts

PolishBigSpender · 16 February 2009 at 2:40AM

I could be wrong, but...

You'll receive funding for a two bedroom house. You won't be forced to move, but it would seem unlikely that they will fund you enough to stay in a three bedroom house. There are discretionary payments from councils, however, it would seem unlikely that they would pay these for long - perhaps three months to let you move into a smaller property.

Jobseekers Alllowance is claimed for as a couple, although because one of you doesn't have to work because of the child, it might be a bit more complex. I certainly would recommend taking proper advice in this area first - but I *believe* the idea is to claim JSA as an individual while your wife claims Income Support.

Moneywise, I think you could expect around 120 pounds a week, but please don't quote me on this. There's a useful calculator at http://www.entitledto.co.uk which may be useful.

sue1953 · 16 February 2009 at 7:52AM

crazygaijin wrote: »

I have a child under 12, shall I claim JSA or IS? Or maybe I claim JSA and my wife claims IS?

Unemployment looming JSA,LHA questions please
My wife and I have a 1 year old and its looking like I may be losing my job after more than a decade. Company going bankrupt.

We are renting a small 3 bed house, so if I do have to apply for JSA will I be able to apply for LHA as well? I am told I only qualify for a 2 bedroom house, does it matter that we live in a 3 bed? Will I just receive less LHA, or will we have to move to a smaller place?

Also I was the only breadwiner, my wife is a full time mum/housewife. If I sign on, does my wife have sign on as well with a 1year old?

One other question, I havent paid enough NI contributions and have no money or anything. Could someone tell me what my family may be entitled to? What would be the JSA for a family like mine to live on?

I have never claimed a penny (apart from TC) I have worked straight from school and am a bit scared about the global crisis.

Thanks in advance for any helpful posts

You need to claim Jobseekers Allowance (income based) if you haven't paid enough NI contributions, though you cant claim if you have savings over £16000. You will lose some JSA if you have savings between £6,000 and £16,000. You claim JSA as a couple and will receive £94.95 per week for the both of you. You will need to sign on and be available for work, your wife wont need to sign on due to having a child under 12. Your wife will not be able to claim Income support.
With regard to the LHA, your local authority will pay for a two-bedroomed property and you will need to make up the difference (if there is one).

Income Support, JSA - Differences?

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