Benefits

[Charlieandthechocolatecake]

Posting here for traffic, my sincere apologies!

I'm not a "scrounger' as a friend of mine has suggested. No bashing please!

DP has been offered a job, 55k pa.

I claim child benefit, it's not needed but from all the research I've done it's recommended to still claim it for national insurance/ state pension purposes etc.

CB goes into my account. If DP takes this job I will still claim for it for the above reasons. I'm aware that I'd still get the full amount but that some of it needs to be paid back.

I'm assuming the CB people won't write to us to tell us how to go about this so I'm not sure what to do?

Again, this isn't about me wanting whatever I can get from tax payers! I just need to know what to do. FWIW I earn £25k pa and we get CB for our 2 DS's

Applies if over £50k

Would it be a good idea to put the CB people into a high interest savings account so that we can pay it back when required?

Or is that selfish seen as it's coming from public funds?

You can opt out and still get credit for ni

You have to claim self assessment and pay back whatever proportion you need to (how much over 50k he earns) if over 60K he pays it all back.

They wont necessarily write to you - although they did write to us to say we needed to when we have

But I know of at least 2 couples who did not realise and got fined so they do look at it so you will need to return a portion of it

To be honest 3 years of having to sort it was stressful self assessment is not the easiest system and it will be your DP who needs to

As you are working and earning the national insurance/state pension bits dont count.

Why shouldn't she claim if she is entitled to it?

I thought the whole point was that she wasn't entitled to it?

Ignore my post then.

You can go on to the gov.uk gateway thing and choose claim but not receive.

Or you can declare it on a tax firm and it will be deducted.

I would work out your dh pension contribution first though because if his salary minus these is less than £50k you're entitled to it.

Tell your friend to FO. I'm SURE she would claim anything she was entitled to regardless of need.

Everyone is still entitled to claim. Anyone who or whose partner earns between 50-60k have to pay back a proportion of it. Anyone over 60k has to pay it all back.

As the OP said you could get interest on it and then pay it back and make a small amount of money. We decided against that as dealing with the self assessment system and interest rates made it easier to just stop. I work though so NI and Pension is fine

A pension contribution of £6K gross pa which is £500 pm (11%) would put him at £49K and you won't be subject to the sliding scale which pertains between £50 - 60K.

Why shouldn't she claim if she is entitled to it?

This really irks me. Everyone is entitled to something these days.

CB doesn't go toward your state pension, your NI contributions from employment will cover that.

Everybody is still entitled to claim it. Those with an individual income over £50k would have to pay a proportion back up until they reach £60k and then it all gets paid back through the self assessment tax return.

OP, you get the full amount of child benefit and then pay back a proportion of what was received depending how much over £50k his wages were

@Charlieandthechocolatecake

Any interest you earn on CB will be pennies. Combo of small amount and vvv low interest rated

How does claiming child benefit improve your state pension, isn't that based on the tax and NI you pay on your salary?

If the OP wasn't working then claiming child benefit gives NI credits which count towards the state pension (up until child is 12).

CB doesn't go toward your state pension, your NI contributions from employment will cover that.

The person who's most likely to be out of work should claim it, as then they will automatically be covered while they are out of work.

(It's not necessarily true that it goes to the mother, you should opt for it to go to father if he's more likely to need the NI credits.)

Presumably you can change who claims it from time-to-time, having the person who is more likely to need the NI credits claim it is just a potential admin saving.

Hi I am a tax bod and based on your DP gross annual salary of £55k alone you will have to repay a proportion of the annual child benefit you receive. The child benefit charge threshold is £50k. Your DP can deduct any grossed up personal private contributions or charitable donations he makes from the £55k, to reduce the amount owing.

He will need to register for self assessment and any amount owing will be calculated when he submits his tax return.

When you claim child benefit you receive an annual state pension credit against your national insurance record, so it is definitely worth registering for it even if you never claim it to protect yourself. This is really important for SAHM where the partner is the higher earner.

By signing up to the personal tax account, it will tell you how many years of credits you have:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/your-personal-tax-account/your-personal-tax-account

FWIW in your circumstances I would continue to claim CB until your DP's total annual income (even after deduction of contributions) exceeds £60K, when you will have to repay all the annual CB.

that should be personal private PENSION contributions!

But the OP works, so she is already paying NICs and building her state pension entitlement. So I don't understand the references to NI and state pension benefits?

Of course you're not a scrounger! You're just claiming something that you are entitled to.

However please keep in mind that most people on Disability Benefits and Job Seekers benefits are also just claiming what they are entitled. The "Scrounger" rhetoric is dangerous and disproportionately affects poorer and disabled people. Have a think about how often people complain about wealthy people who do not pay tax vs poorer people claiming benefits.

Your friend sounds like a bit of a dick.

So your friend is committing benefit fraud, but you're the one 'taking food out of her children's mouths'? (With your totally legitimate claim).
Righty ho...
I'd get some better friends if I were you.
Ps. Is she a bit thick?

You register for it, but tell them DH earns over 50k and they’ll stop it for you. So your still registered and get your NI stamp for being at home but not get the Child benefit. It’s ridiculous I know.

We claim it and pay it back each year. I've always thought it useful. My DH gets the NI credits that he needs and if I ever lost my job it would be comforting to know that this benefit was already in place.

You register for it, but tell them DH earns over 50k and they’ll stop it for you. So your still registered and get your NI stamp for being at home but not get the Child benefit.

OP isn’t ‘at home’

You register for it, but tell them DH earns over 50k and they’ll stop it for you. So your still registered and get your NI stamp for being at home but not get the Child benefit. It’s ridiculous I know

Don't opt out unless you earn over £60k. NI credits will only apply if the person isn't working

One other thing about claiming it is that if a grandparent does regular childcare for you and they are under the state pension age but do not work then you can pass on the NICs credits you get to them. You don't actually need the credits if you work and earn enough to get a full qualifying year for your state pension each tax year.