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Original poster

When you claim benefits do they take into account any savings you might have??

24 replies

CvQ · 21/09/2008 18:11

i could really do with some advice. ive only got 5 weeks until i may need to do this. am i leaving it a bit late?

OP posts:

expatinscotland · 21/09/2008 18:14

yes.

every one of those applications, including housing/council tax and tax credits, make you declare all savings, shares/stocks, ISAs, anything like that.

Imnotok · 21/09/2008 18:14

Yes they ask if you have any savings over a certain amount and they ask if your dc have any savings too.

TheBlonde · 21/09/2008 18:18

depends on the benefits
iirc you can claim contribution based JSA and any savings don't matter

Original poster

CvQ · 21/09/2008 18:18

posted this in lone parents aswell and ive just been told the same
fuck

OP posts:

expatinscotland · 21/09/2008 18:24

'iirc you can claim contribution based JSA and any savings don't matter '

you still fill out the same app for contribution or income based JSA and the form asks you about all savings so it can be determined by the DWP which you qualify for (contribution or income based), if any at all.

TheBlonde · 21/09/2008 18:25

thanks for the clarification expat

expatinscotland · 21/09/2008 18:26

my neighbour works in the JobCentre plus, can you tell?

TheBlonde · 21/09/2008 18:27

KatieDD · 21/09/2008 19:26

You can have up to £6,000 in savings without loosing entitlement and then you loose a pound for every £250 you have.
If you have debts, use the money to clear them.

nannyL · 21/09/2008 22:32

i my uncle was eligable for some money when he 'signed on'. I think it was job seekers alowance?

He was only prepeared to work for a job paying more than £50k and he was in the process of buying a massive brand new 6 bed luxury house, so im sure even if you have lots of money you are still eligable for something

nannyL · 21/09/2008 22:33

that would have been at least 7 years ago if it makes a difference?

expatinscotland · 21/09/2008 22:33

no, you're really not, nappy. unless you lie on your application, which some people do, sadly.

but there's a chance you could be caught for that.

FAQ · 21/09/2008 22:35

expatinscotland · 21/09/2008 22:37

sorry, nanny, that is.

am trying to drink some hot water and lemon as well as i'm all bunged up.

FAQ · 21/09/2008 22:39

I thought I'd gone totally mad there for a minute

was going to suggest something stronger for the bunged up head........then I remember you've got a passenger on board (how far on are you now??)

nannyL · 21/09/2008 22:42

i guess you mena me

this was 7 years ag and at the time he WAS entitiled to it...

we were all laughing abiut it... he would have (and did) declare everything, but back then the 'computer said yes'.... he figured he had paid rather a lot of tax and would continue to do so, so if it was his turn to get somnething back that he was entitiled to he might as well have it....
so every other week he went to the job centre to sign on...

it was only a couple of months before he found his dream job (inventing a new drug deliver mechanism that is staring to help lots of cancer patients )

expatinscotland · 21/09/2008 22:43

34 weeks.

i'm going to take some Piriton otherwise i won't be able to get to sleep and i didn't get much sleep last night because he was making me vomit again.

FAQ · 21/09/2008 22:45

omg - it doesn't seem 2 minutes since you had your 20 week scan!!! Not long to go now then - and we'll welcome you into the "more children than you have arms" club

expatinscotland · 21/09/2008 22:49

i can't WAIT to have him.

i think they're a couple of weeks off on my due date, tbh.

because i conceived him after just one cycle after the ERPC and i wasn't back to normal, so it's hard to know.

but he feels about a week ahead.

here's hoping.

FAQ · 21/09/2008 22:50

TheBlonde · 21/09/2008 23:00

34 weeks!!! where did the time go?

lou031205 · 22/09/2008 00:01

CVQ, don't forget that it is only tiny.

£7250 in savings means that they would consider you to have an income (presuming you don't have any other) of £5 per week, and as a single mum, you are entitled to an income disregard of £20 per week.

annh · 22/09/2008 22:33

NannyL is correct, her uncle probably did receive some money, regardless of his savings. I recently gave up working and was trying to protect my NI contributions so embarked upon a nightmare round of phone calls to various places to see how I could contrinue to pay this amount. I kept being persuaded by various Job Centre people that I would be entitled to JSA even though I told them DH's salary, that we had savings, shares etc. It was quite funny because I was trying to disqualify myself from money that they were equally determined to give me! Anyway, it turns out that because I had been working for the previous two years, I was entitled to contributions-based JSA which would pay about £60 per week for up to 6 months. This is entirely based on the contributions you have made through work. After that, I could apply for Income-based JSA which is where they would take account of savings.

elkiedee · 22/09/2008 22:43

For all the benefits they take account of savings.

If you've worked and paid NI and they don't deem your lack of a job to be intentional or self-inflicted in the wrong sort of way, you should still be entitled to a few months contribution based JSA.

Tax credits - I take it you're not working, because for WFTC you still get tax credits even if you have quite substantial savings if they're in ISAs or other tax free accounts.

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