Partners and savings

tamias · 21 August 2010 at 1:28PM

Hi all,

This is my first time posting so please be gentle. I was wondering if anyone could help unofficially advise me regarding my girlfriend's and my financial situation wrt claiming benefits.

We've been living at my girlfriend's dad's for the last year to try to save money as she's just finished a 1-year college course and is now unable to find long-term work. A recent mouse infestation and burglary, as well as the desire to have our own space, has prompted us to move out to private rented accommodation.

The statistics:

Her - 25, currently in week 2 of 6 weeks of temp work but with nothing lined up afterwards, and has next to no savings.

Me - 25, currently doing a full-time PhD for which I recieve a tax-free bursary (enough for me to live on, but not for both of us), I also earn about £3k per year from part-time jobs. I've saved all my life (gone without the nicer things etc) to try to raise a deposit for a future house purchase which currently stands at around £30k, held in an ISA and a bank bond, of which around a third is un-repaid student debt.

As I understand it, if my girlfriend was on her own she'd be able to claim for Working Tax Credit / Job Seeker's (after her 6 week term ends), Council Tax Benefit, and Housing Benefit towards her half of the rent. I'd imagine we'd not have to pay council tax either way, as full-time students are exempt and she's on a low/soon to be zero wage. But what about her WTC/JSA and Housing Benefit? How much does my situation affect her ability to claim *for herself* (note I'm not interested in trying to claim anything for myself)?

One way of reading the forms, which worries me, is that as we qualify as "co-habiting partners" and I personally have >£16k in savings, I'm expected to blow it all on helping us to survive until I have so little left in savings that we qualify for the above mentioned benefits. Surely that's not right? Especially as, if I bought a house (somehow) with those savings and it became my main residence, they seem not to count that as capital any longer!

Thanks for any advice you can give me.

Mark

lovetowinacar · 21 August 2010 at 1:45PM

You partner may qualify for non income/savings related benefits such as job seekers allowance if she has paid enough NI.

Since you are a couple your total income and total savings (total savings between the two of you - £30,000) are used to establish if you qualify for other benefits and based on the figures you have given for savings you need to use savings to support yourselves with before asking the taxpayer to help you.

Hopefully she will continue to gain temporary employment until a permanent position comes up. Good luck.

dmg24 · 21 August 2010 at 1:45PM

Unless your GF has paid sufficient NI Conts in 07/08 and 08/09, she will be ineligible for CB JSA. As you have savings and an income, you would be expected to provide for her.

viktory · 21 August 2010 at 1:45PM

tamias wrote: »

HI'm expected to blow it all on helping us to survive until I have so little left in savings that we qualify for the above mentioned benefits. Surely that's not right? Especially as, if I bought a house (somehow) with those savings and it became my main residence, they seem not to count that as capital any longer!

Thanks for any advice you can give me.

Mark

If you love her and want to build a life with her, sharing accommodation, a bed, holidays, fun times and sad times, then yes, you are expected to use your savings to support you both. Hopefully one day she will be in a position to support you in return. That is not an unreasonable expectation.

If money means more to you than your relationship, then your girlfriend needs to move out and claim the benefits to which she will be entitled.

tamias · 21 August 2010 at 3:20PM

Thanks for these replies, guys. I'm still a little confused regarding the apparently contradictory advice given in this sam forum to a couple with far larger savings asking about WTC ("Working tax credits-£199,000 savings-do we qualify?"), which seems to indicate it's only the interest income from savings which is counted.

I still really don't get this notion of savings and benefits... if I spent all of my savings on a (very expensive) chocolate teapot--or on a house--I'd have no savings left, and we'd therefore qualify for benefits. Conversely, if someone with no money or income at all took out a £16k loan from a loan shark and put it straight in a bank account, they'd automatically disqualify themselves from any benefits?!

Still, if that's the way things are, I guess that's shown me... Clearly shouldn't have bothered saving at all

Caz3121 · 21 August 2010 at 3:29PM

Income from savings is indeed counted for Working Tax Credits and Child Tax Credits (for working tax credits you would need to be working 30+ hours) however housing benefit/LHA is all counted on total savings. under £6k has no impact, over £16k excludes and between has a sliding scale.

How much will your outgoings increase in your own place? I assume you are currently paying rent to her parents, once your girlfriend is working you should be able to start topping up the savings again

dmg24 · 21 August 2010 at 3:29PM

The criteria for WTC is different, I explained that in the thread you are referring to.

nannytone_2 · 21 August 2010 at 3:46PM

and if you 'blow' your savings on anything other than necessary living expenses it would be deemed 'deprivaation of capital' and treated as if you still have the money.

tamias · 21 August 2010 at 3:49PM

Caz3121 and dmg24: thanks for clarifying that.

To answer your question, Caz3121, I'm paying nominal rent to her parents currently but my maintenance grant won't cover rent, bills, and living costs for both of us in the new place. We'll be living out of my savings then, it seems, until either we can find her a job, or until my savings have all run out and we've kissed goodbye to the idea of owning our own place together.

I think I feel cheated that I was ever encouraged to save and to 'go without' for now to make a better future. I know plenty of people who have always just spent whatever they earn and are now entitled to full assistance as they have no savings at all. But I digress, as moaning won't actually change anything about our current situation and I guess you guys hear this sort of thing quite a lot from newbies anyway

tamias · 21 August 2010 at 3:55PM

Nannytone: Ok, that makes sense philosophically, but as far as I'm aware no checks are actually made to see if claimants own a £16k chocolate teapot for example, and as I mentioned earlier if that £16k was actually capital in a house it's specifically discounted from the claimant's assets.

If that's because owning a house counts as 'necessary living expenses', then what protection is there for people who can't afford to own a house and are trying to put together a deposit?

Oldernotwiser · 21 August 2010 at 4:01PM

Wouldn't it be better to move back in with her father until she gets permanent or long term employment. You could use some of your savings to buy mousetraps and better locks.

Partners and savings

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