Benefits advice

[greeneyedmonster]

My husband's company has gone into liquidation and as he worked for them for less than a year he's not entitled to any redundancy. He has never been unemployed in his life but while he is looking for work decided to claim JSA. Lo and behold he received a letter today stating that as he worked overseas for part of the last tax year (whilst paying 40% UK tax the whole time), and therefore hasn't paid sufficient Class 1 conts his claim has been disallowed. So to cut a long story short (though I'm sure I already know the answer!) is anyone aware of any benefits he can claim, where our savings won't be taken into account? I don't work, but don't claim any type of benefits so it seems we are supposed to live off our savings until my hubby finds another job, which at age 55 will not be too easy.
Any help/advice (or food parcels!) gratefully received.

[mrs_overall]

Can I ask what he did for a living?

[murraymints]

excuse the aside..welcome home mrs o..missed you !

[buildersmate]

There are others far more able to sprout the necessary details than I, but JSA can either be contribution-based (which he isn't entitled to) or income-based JSA (which is means-tested). He may be able to get that.

By the way, I am somewhat surprised that if he was paying UK tax on his overseas earnings, he wasn't also paying NI. Are you sure?

[mrs_overall]

Thanks murray xx

Sorry to go off the subject green

[greeneyedmonster]

Hi-Mrs O, he is an oil rig worker, and Buildersmate, he paid Class 4 conts when overseas and was definitely still fully subject to UK tax (unfortunately!)

[Eve]

With you mentioning savings, trouble is the idea of certain benefits is to help people who have no income or no (or low) savings and people who have savings over a certain amount are expected to use those savings before getting any financial assistance from the state.

[greeneyedmonster]

Exactly Jenna..."some" benefits, which is the reason for my question! I was hoping that maybe somewhere in our crazy welfare system there just might be something that someone who has worked all their lives and paid enough tax to keep a small country afloat could claim, for a hopefully short period, but it seems not. My husband has (or had) an above average wage, but he works 84 hour weeks in dangerous conditions then has to pay 40% tax on his earnings and we aren't exactly talking footballers wages here! No wonder this country is in the £$%& when hard-workers are penalised while millions of career claimants who know exactly how to play the system have their profligacy rewarded.

[buildersmate]

Re: Class 4 Contributions.
I see - that's a shame. He must have been self-employed when abroad then?
Sorry to say that it is the Class 1 contribution (employees plus employers bit) that entitle the individual to contribution-based JSA.
Governments would have you believe that it is the NI that pays for it. In reality it all goes into one big post called 'Treasury funds' but I suppose the line has to be drawn somewhere.