To think paying tax on jobseekers allowance is just crap

[20thcenturygirlwithherhandsonthewheel]

I was made redundant a few months ago. I have worked just under 30 years and never claimed any benefits before. DH and I have always saved to make sure that we have money aside just in case of emergencies (especially as housing benefits don’t pay the mortgage), so we have over £16k in savings and can’t claim anything means tested.

fair enough.

the only benefit I could claim when unemployed was contribution based jobseekers allowance: a massive £93 a week that I could only claim for 6 months.

thankfully I was only unemployed for 8 weeks. But to my surprise I’ve just recieved a letter from HMRC telling me that the paltry £93 a week was taxable. So really; probably will end up about £70 a week.

really pissed off: being putting money in the kitty for 30 years but getting so little when we needed it

Most people work. You say that as though it’s somewhat special that you’ve worked!

You have plenty of savings - for a rainy day. Well, that was your rainy day, so why are you sad about using them?

The system isn’t there for people like you (and I) who have savings to fall back on. They’re for people who would struggle to live without the government help.

To be honest, I think you’re lucky to have claimed anything. I know lots of people who have been out of work for a few months and who haven’t even thought of claiming as they just use their savings whilst looking for work.

I realise its not the point of the thread but i can really recommend Income Protection- if you can afford to save for these eventualities, you can likely afford to insure yourself against them and make sure your Mortgage is paid, without having to touch your savings OP

She's allowed to and besides having worked for for 30 years she's entitled to.

Quite agree OP.

No, the whole idea of NI was to be a contribution based system where it provided insurance against unemployment.

And having paid my contributions: I see no problem whatsoever in receiving money when unemployed

the fact that I was also prudent and had modest savings really shouldn’t come into it

But you brought your prudence into it while complaining that people who don’t have your personal safety net get more.

Because Job Seekers is a safety net. It's there to tide you over. I had the same. I've paid higher rate tax for 30 years, never claimed benefits, piled everything I have into being mortgage free. Taken complete financial responsibility since I was 18.

Then got made redundant at 58 and had the same. I was unemployed for 7 months (during covid), things were getting very difficult, I was doing my best, but they still wanted their cut. I made them wait until the following January, when I did my tax return.

I don't mind paying my contributions. I've been luckier than others.

It was just the indecent haste with which the tax bill arrived that made me cross. I hadn't even received a pay cheque when the first demand arrived.

Don't let them stress you out.

Why do you think you won't be receiving a state pension when you retire?

I assume the poster is taxed at 40% because her state pension, combined with any other pensions she may have, puts her into the 40% tax bracket.

there just won’t be the money. When a state pension started; life expectancy was lower and you weren’t expected to live long enough to have it for long.

we now have an aged population; and it will continue to get worse. My mum retired with a state pension at 60: the retirement age has moved several times since then

When a state pension started; life expectancy was lower and you weren’t expected to live long enough to have it for long.

Life expectancy is decreasing. Plenty of people beat the system. My granny was born in 1884, she drew her pension for 35 years.

But then it’s just any pension income above £50k that is taxed at 40%. The majority of her income is taxed at 20%. Although apparently half the country have no idea that income tax works on a tax bands system…

You should try to get your facts right.

Someone born in 1958 could start work at 15 and claim their state pension at 66 i.e. after working for 51 years.

If you were born in 1979 your projected state pension age is 68, so if you started work at 16 (school leaving age had been raised) the 'hell of a lot longer' that you would have worked would be 1 year. But happily for you your life expectancy would be 3 years longer than the 1958 born.

I don’t think anyone who has an occupational pension will also get a state pension in the future. State pension is a benefit. They don’t HAVE to give you anything no matter what you’ve paid in, and with a population implosion on the horizon the state pension system is unaffordable.

Good for you.

OP, I didn't know this was the case either. I was made redundant last September and I'm going to start looking for a job soon. I haven't claimed benefits but I will do as soon as I'm seriously looking. I've worked since I was 17 so certainly won't be feeling guilty about claiming.

This is whataboutery: you got a job after claiming JSA for 8 weeks from the sound of your OP. Did you receive a redundancy payment?

You're paying tax on the benefits you received because your earnings before and after the period during which you received JSA mean that overall you haven't paid enough tax.

It's not rocket science. I begrudge you claiming the JSA with £16k in savings, but it won't do me any good.

I think the government should offer a proper optional income protection insurance scheme for those who work. I’d pay a few percentage of my salary every month to know that I’d receive 70-90% of my wages for a set period of time if I was made redundant. If you earn say £50k a year there is no way you can drop your expenditure overnight to meet the current JSA values. There should be an optional scheme to provide such a buffer that properly reflects what you’ve paid in.

It's not rocket science. I begrudge you claiming the JSA with £16k in savings, but it won't do me any good.

You begrudge someone less than £500 a month because they have savings? £16k won't last very long in many cases

Of course it isn’t.

This.

Benefits are there to support people who don't have 16k savings and a spouse to support them in the short term.

Just get another job. I'm glad people on non means tested benefits pay tax, as they absolutely should do.

She was made redundant and quite likely received a redundancy payment and went on to get a new job after claiming JSA for 8 weeks. I do understand that redundancy is not good (,been there myself in the past), but this poster appears to be over-egging things in order to complain about other people she thinks are less deserving getting benefits.

And a woman born in 1950 could retire at age 60, a woman born in 1953 could retire at 63.

National insurance was meant to be a CONTRIBUTORY benefit that people who worked could claim in case of unemployment. I contributed, so am entitled to claim. End of story.

So was I but I've taken nearly a year out. I'm waiting for DH to get some test results and then I'll start looking for a job and I'll be claiming JSA even though we have savings as I'm entitled to it.

I recieved a very crappy redundancy pay. Either way, I bloody contributed to Ni and tax, so yeah; damn fucking right I am claiming

So pay your tax and stop complaining seeing as you are working again now.