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Contribution based JSA and Income based JSA
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can someone please explain the difference, apart from the disregards for contribution based, more along the lines of why the rate is the same for someone who has paid 30 years + contributions and someone over 25 who hasn't paid a penny and never worked a day in their lives? Just a simple explanation that does not focus on the other state hand outs like NHS etc that both claimants would recieve equally.
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You say you should not be paid the same as someone living at home with their parents. You have not answered how you would feel if you had to maintain that person if you were the parent and the State paid nothing to them.
Anyone could have worked the same number of years as you but not be be paid redundancy. You are better of because of the redundancy but you get the same rate of JSA. Why is that fair? What is the difference?
Anyone could have worked the same number of years as you but not be be paid redundancy. You are better of because of the redundancy but you get the same rate of JSA. Why is that fair? What is the difference?
Dot, my husband found himself in a similar situation a couple of years ago. He'd worked and paid his contributions for 34 years, but got made redundant when the company closed down. He tried to claim JSA but was told he could only claim it when his redundancy pay had been spent. They calculated his redundancy pay would last for two months.
When the two months passed, he put in his claim (think it was £57 at that time) and when he told the authorities he couldn't live on £57 a week, their reply was "You are not expected to be able to live on it - it's a payment which is kept deliberately low to encourage claimants not to be on this benefit for long. If the amount was enough to live on, many claimants wouldn't bother to try to find a job - they'd just stay on benefits".
He felt like you do - he'd had 34 years of work with no sickness, no claims whatsoever from the state, and he would never be the type to stay on benefits rather than work. Within two weeks he had taken on a driving job to tide us over while he looked for a job better suited to his abilities.
The Benefits Agency explanation sounded harsh, but I can sort of see where they were coming from.
When the two months passed, he put in his claim (think it was £57 at that time) and when he told the authorities he couldn't live on £57 a week, their reply was "You are not expected to be able to live on it - it's a payment which is kept deliberately low to encourage claimants not to be on this benefit for long. If the amount was enough to live on, many claimants wouldn't bother to try to find a job - they'd just stay on benefits".
He felt like you do - he'd had 34 years of work with no sickness, no claims whatsoever from the state, and he would never be the type to stay on benefits rather than work. Within two weeks he had taken on a driving job to tide us over while he looked for a job better suited to his abilities.
The Benefits Agency explanation sounded harsh, but I can sort of see where they were coming from.
I know that the rules have changed since I was a CO but, basically the Govt. have shifted the goal-posts on many occasions, with regard to the limits of allowable capital.
There is an assumption that folks with a lump of capital behind them ought to be barred from receiving some sorts of benefits; this is because they can afford to support themselves. The cut-off limit used to be £ 3000 (as I said, this was a while ago).
I must admit, I'm struggling to remember exactly how we dealt with redundancy payments.
JSA (as it now is) is not means-tested, but IS dependent upon NI contributions. I am not certain if it is subject to capital cut-off.
Incapacity Benefit is not means-tested, and is not (until a couple of years ago, anyway) subject to capital cut-off; but this was the twin to Unemployment Benefit. Your stamp entitled you to one or other..........
If your circumstances meant you did not qualify for the Dole or Sickness Benefit, your Living Requirements were made up of Supplementary Benefits. These WERE means-tested and had a capital cut-off.
There is an assumption that folks with a lump of capital behind them ought to be barred from receiving some sorts of benefits; this is because they can afford to support themselves. The cut-off limit used to be £ 3000 (as I said, this was a while ago).
I must admit, I'm struggling to remember exactly how we dealt with redundancy payments.
JSA (as it now is) is not means-tested, but IS dependent upon NI contributions. I am not certain if it is subject to capital cut-off.
Incapacity Benefit is not means-tested, and is not (until a couple of years ago, anyway) subject to capital cut-off; but this was the twin to Unemployment Benefit. Your stamp entitled you to one or other..........
If your circumstances meant you did not qualify for the Dole or Sickness Benefit, your Living Requirements were made up of Supplementary Benefits. These WERE means-tested and had a capital cut-off.
ahhh, right, thanks, so those people who are on income based get the same JSA as me now, but in 15 years time i can take consolation in the fact that I get a full state pension and they won;t be doing, that is unless I've not made pension age in which case how would I benefit from having breavement benefit ? I know what ESA is though, it is what you get now instead of incapacity but people with no contributions get ESA don;t they? anyway, never mind now It's late, i'll ask the hobcentre tomorrow to clarify the difference. thanks TCL
Additionally , as I understand it, because you have worked and paid contributions, you get the benefit (howver low it is) despite having some savings or redundancy money, if someone who had not made sufficient contributions also had savings (from whatever source) they would get reduced or no benefit. That is the difference.
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